Miasma
by The Atomic Cafe
Summary: AU. During the year of 1989, the Dursleys are attacked by an old Death Eater. Harry is supposed to stay at Hogwarts, but an interference comes to make sure he learns about his parents. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series nor its affiliates. All characters that you recognize belong to JK Rowling. **_

_**Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoy the irony of the title. Ta.**_

_Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction. _

– _Anne Sullivan_

_Friday_

After the Halloween of 1981, Remus Lupin still remained fully in contact with the Wizarding World despite the fact that he would have willingly given it all up after. He lived within a few miles of Hogsmeade, worked in Wizarding areas, the full run. His closest contacts were wizards – an understandable thing, seeing as he mainly spoke to Albus Dumbledore only, the Headmaster of Hogwarts school.

However, at the moment, he was in a muggle area, calmly walking down one of the streets.

_Number four, number four. _He had his brow furrowed as though trying to remember something. His hands were deep in his pockets and slightly sweating and he had the very soft smile of a person trying to make a choice of whether they should continue doing something against their better judgment.

He was twenty-nine years old, an age where a hint of teenager still remains inside of most people. Remus, on the other hand, had outgrown being a teenager when he was sixteen. Most people, upon meeting him, would think he was about thirty years old, possibly. This was not only from his personality, but also his appearance. He still looked young, but his short brown hair was barely starting to fade already and he had something about his face – maybe around the eyes – that gave off the impression of age.

On that day, he was out to meet Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

Of course, being close friends with Harry's parents when they were alive, he knew Harry. There's just that small difference of knowing a person when they can't speak and when they're nine years old.

He shivered slightly in the cold air and walked up the drive to the house. It was very orderly, the grass perfectly cut around the bends in the driveway and the house was almost gleaming. He raised a fist to the door and paused. There was the sound of footsteps behind him as someone walked up, but he ignored it, still trying to will himself to knock.

"Yes?"

He spun around and saw a tall woman with blonde hair piled on her head glaring at him while fishing keys out of her purse. With one arm she held a boy tightly. The boy was also blonde, and almost perfectly round. Hovering behind them was a shorter boy who was carrying several bags and trying to keep straight as he came up to them. Remus eyed the shorter child for a moment, then brought his eyes to the woman.

"Hello, Petunia," he said, smiling slightly. He knew that the smile would bring up some sort of response from the woman; they had met on several occasions and she had taken a disliking to Remus for many reasons including being a wizard. Sure enough, her eyes flicked over his recognition and she opened the front door, still staring him down.

"Dudley, go inside. You, boy –" she motioned to the shorter one who paused and stared up at her – "get the rest of the bags." There was a nod and the two walked in.

Petunia pulled Remus over to the backyard of the house, peering over the fence as though seeing if they were being watched. He noticed.

"If you don't want anyone to see you talking to me, we could just talk inside," he told her lightly. She turned towards him, not bothering to hide her loathing.

"I'm not letting one of – of you in," she hissed. "Not when my husband is around."

"He's at work right now," Remus answered.

"How do you know?"

"I tried to be a convenience and I picked a time when he wouldn't be here." He gave her a brittle smile and let it drop off his face. "Petunia, I know this may be a bit… unexpected and certainly unwanted, but I wanted to know if I could see Harry."

He had been planning this for months. He was going to walk up the door – done – then demand to see Harry. If he did not get his way, he would try anything to get to the boy. He had no rights to Harry, that much he knew, but he owed something to James and Lily. Looking after their son would be a start.

Dumbledore had carefully explained to him that Harry had to stay at the Dursley's, giving very vague reasons and not saying more than needed to understand. Remus, respecting the old wizard, agreed. Seeing Harry would not involve anything out of what Dumbledore needed, however.

Her expression could not be read. It was anger and pity and remembrance mixed together on the horse face as she kept silent.

"Not long," Remus said hastily. _There goes demanding to see him. _"Just… as short as you want." He had his hands grasped together, whether to stop himself from grabbing her or just to stop the shake of them.

As she spared a glance at the back door, Remus closed his eyes. _I owe at least this much to them. _

When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him, lips pursed and eyes narrowed slightly.

"Stay away from Dudley and don't mention any of your – your kind and… for a few minutes, possibly. No more. After that you have to leave."

Remus smiled brightly, biting his bottom lip slightly. She opened the back door and led the way in, telling him to wipe his shoes and close the door. He did so, not wanting to upset her.

The kitchen was cleaner than the outside, which was saying quite a bit. Remus was nodded away and he glanced around, wondering where Harry would be.

The front door closed, softly as though the person did not want to be heard, and the boy walked in, tipping the last bags onto the counter and glancing up at his aunt.

"You have someone here to see you," she said indifferently and glanced at Remus. "Just a few minutes," she reminded him.

He nodded and turned to Harry, asking Petunia if they could speak outside. She nodded, still looking angry as she unpacked a few bags.

Harry may have had James' hair and nose and just about every feature except eyes, but he looked nothing like Remus would have imagined him to look at that age. He had a pinched look, eyes wide in his thin face. His expression was like an animal trying to decide whether to run away or stand ground.

Neither spoke for a moment, so Remus started with the only thing he could think.

"You look just like your father."

Harry glanced up at him, almost cowering. "I do?"

Stricken, Remus nodded. "James. Yes, you do. Do you know much about your father."

"Only a bit," Harry admitted. "May I ask who you are?"

Remus had never heard such a polite boy in his life; he wasn't such whether he was amazed or angry about that.

"My name is Remus Lupin. I – well, I knew your parents. I've met you before, really." He broke off. It felt weird, speaking to someone who had always been close to him as though they were perfect strangers.

"I see," Harry murmured, falling silent and just staring into his face.

"You aunt promised me a few minutes to speak to you. I – well, I was your parents' friend."

He trailed off yet again, hoping Harry would get the hint. The child still remained there, the same expression covering his face.

"What I was really wondering was… would you like to be… friends?"

If James had been there, he would have been shocked to see Remus loosing his touch with words and actually stuttering.

Harry's eyes visably brightened, which Remus took as being a good sign. He muttered a small little, "Well, sure, if you want," and tried to hide the smile coming up on his face.

The door opened and Petunia was there, glancing at them. "Time to go. My husband will be home soon."

"Just one moment, then." Remus turned to Harry. Bright green eyes stared him down, kindly watching him. "I'll be seeing you some time, right?" Harry nodded. "Good. I'll see you, hmm, in a few days. I think I may be able to stop by then."

Harry just nodded, smiling shyly. Remus started to wrap his arms around Harry in a hug, but paused and gripped the thin shoulders tightly and grinning. "Until then."

The young boy rushed inside, past Petunia who was watching his crossed arms and a sour expression on her face.

"You better not have let anything leak out," she snapped as Remus passed.

"Of course not."

The door snapped shut and Remus walked down the sidewalk, heart a hundred times lighter than it had been ten minutes before.

_Tuesday_

"You adore the brat already?" Severus Snape, Potions Master of seven years already, asked him, face contorted in disgust. "Only you would be so sentimental with any creature related to that –"

"What do you need me here for?" Remus sighed, restraining himself. He hated the man, deep down, but he found that being civilized made life easier, so he treated Severus mildly, almost indifferently.

"I assure you that I did not wish for your company," Snape told him, starting his round of excuses of why he was wasting his time. "I would much rather be doing other tasks that I had to set aside for your health."

Biting back any rude words, Remus shrugged slightly, waiting for the reason.

"The Headmaster says I should tell you all of this against my judgment. I'm sure you will find the news rather enjoyable."

Again, Remus shrugged slightly, getting annoyed at his stalling.

"There is a new potion that's currently being discovered and revamped to work properly without side effects. It's termed the Wolfsbane Potion. Have you heard of it yet?"

"No." Remus only knew that wolfsbane was a type of poison that was used in many potions. However, Severus would not have brought it up if it was not worth anything to either.

"It helps to control a werewolf during the full moon. Well, we assume it will once it is finished."

"You mean… stopping transformations? That's impossible."

Severus gave him a look that should have silenced him but Remus went on.

"There's no such potion that does that. No point to trying to make something like that."

"What I meant," Severus cut over him, "was it may possibly decrease pain or make it seem as though your human without actually being in that form. However, if you're so ungrateful for that, I suppose there's no reason to offer it to you."

"What exactly is it? A potion, yes, but what?"

Severus paused for a moment, apparently thinking. His expressions were so hard to read. "It needs to be tried a few times in different ways to make sure that it does work as it's only been tested once and still did not have the desired effect."

"What happened?"

A lip curled. "Are you sure you would like to know?"

Remus kept silent and Severus continued. "We need someone to test it on. It would include months. Possibly even years, I suppose. I'm offering you the position to try to help improve on it."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "It doesn't sound like a pretty job," Remus finally answered. "I think normal transformations would be better because I know what to expect."

"Once we get the correct mixture, I'll be able to provide it to you." A thin eyebrow rose as Severus watched him consider.

"That's only if I survive the tests, is it?" he asked rather rudely. Severus remained motionless.

After watching the other man for a moment, Remus said, doubt riding on his voice, "I suppose I have no choice but to accept."

Two thin hands grabbed a slip of parchment from the desk and waved it to Remus. "This is the form explaining all of the procedures. You'll be needing to sign it."

Remus took it and glanced the paper with Severus' cramped handwriting over.

_I, will be under the Wolfsbane Potion, which I am aware is a new discovery. I will help test the potion as I am a registered werewolf. Under the supervision of Severus Snape, I will spend as many days as needed transforming under the potion and I understand that this is my own choice._

_Severus Snape_

Remus glanced at this face for a moment and filled in his name in the first blank, using the second to sign with an offered quill.

"I hope this works," he told Severus. "I'd prefer not to end up worse than now after transformations."

Severus took the parchment from where he left it and rolled it up quickly, slipping it into his desk. "The first day to start working with it will be –" He cut off, glancing at a calendar on his desk.

"The thirteenth," Remus answered quickly. "That's next Monday. About six o'clock will be moonrise, so what time should I be here?"

Severus glanced at Remus for a moment, thinking deeply. "About five, I would say. No later than five-thirty. And don't be late."

"I'll plan to be here then," Remus answered kindly and forced a smile as he walked out.

The halls were empty. Hogwarts was already into the school year, it being November. At the moment, he knew that they would all be inside of their dorms, sleeping by now. There was an eerie silence that filled everything except the space around him, with the exception of his footsteps.

As he was rounding the corner to leave through the doors and get outside and back home, a body came up behind him and rested a light hand on his shoulder.

"Do you remember Alexander Mulciber?" came a gentle voice from behind him. Remus spun around and saw Minerva McGonagall standing there, looking rather worried. He nodded and followed when she quickly spun on her heel and walked down a separate hall. He knew that the direction she was going in was Dumbledore's office.

"Sugar Quill," she told the gargoyles, all of which jumped to the side and let her open the door into the office. Remus followed, glancing around the room again, spotting small differences from when he had been in school.

"Thank you, Minerva," he told the woman, who sat down. Dumbledore motioned for Remus to sit, so he did, staring at the old man intently.

He sighed before speaking. "Remus, I'm brought you in here because there's some recent news that I think you would like to know. It involves Harry."

Remus took a deep breath out of worry. What if it was that Dumbledore knew he saw Harry? He had not been allowed to and the thought had been bothering him for nearly a week.

"The Dursleys, whom I am sure you've met and know about, have been attacked."

Caught in his own thoughts, Remus was sure he misheard that statement. However, he did not usually ask people to repeat what they've said. Moving forward to the edge of his chair, he watched as Dumbledore finished speaking.

"Mr. Mulciber, about five years ahead of you, if I remember correctly, was found by Aurors inside of their house with a wand in hand."

"What happened to the others?" He knew who Mulciber was well enough. He was a fifth year when he arrived at Hogwarts. Severus Snape hung around him from the first day to when Mulciber left. From the First War, Remus knew that he became a Death Eater who was never caught and sent to Azkaban. Lord Voldemort must have thought him a betrayer – the man pretended to not be connected to Voldemort and often hid instead of fought.

"The Dursleys were all found Stunned, not seriously injured, while Harry was found inside of the cupboard under the stairs, perfectly fine if not frightened."

Finally, Remus felt he lost his composure. There was a sick satisfaction he felt after hearing the news. Dumbledore would not have told him at such a time unless –

He let the thought go and only concentrated on Harry. Perfectly fine. Frightened. Safe. Unfound. No Death Eater got to him.

"Why were they after him?" Remus asked suddenly. "If Voldemort" – McGonagall shuddered and sat up straighter than before, fixing her glasses – "is dead, then what would be the point of getting Harry now?"

Dumbledore stared him down before answering. "Do you truly believe that Lord Voldemort is dead forever."

_That's what dead usually implies_, Remus thought, annoyed. "Yes," he answered instead.

Glaring at him over his spectacles, Dumbledore told him, "Don't always believe what you may hear."

_Wednesday _

The conversation from the day before ended in a fight. Remus gave in because there was no point in fighting with Albus Dumbledore; everything worked out to his own good in the end, no matter what you said. He was not an unkind man, almost everyone would say. Albus Dumbledore was just persuasive and kind.

Remus had offered to care for Harry for as long as needed – he was hoping that would mean for a while, as in until he went to Hogwarts and possibly over those summers. Dumbledore reminded him of what had been said so long ago about Harry having to stay at the Dursleys. By this point, McGonagall left the room quietly, leaving them to their own devices. Remus countered Dumbledore with the fact that the Headmaster said Harry only had to stay with his relatives for a little while and he would be fine for a while. Dumbledore brought up his condition and how the Ministry would never let someone like him near the savior of the Wizarding World. Remus said that he knew that, thank you very much, but that Dumbledore could easily get them to let him. That was retorted with a simple no. Remus angrily snapped that Dumbledore had nothing else to do with the child until he was eleven, which, unless his memory was already starting to fail him, was a whole three years away.

Although the Headmaster was a kind man, he, like Remus, knew ways to show being upset without yelling or violence. He calmly told Remus that he knew what he could do with Harry for a few years and that there would be no need for help.

Remus had walked out of the room, remaining as calm as he could in that situation. It had been a short walk from the front doors to Hogsmede, where he could Apparate back to his house.

Wednesday morning was greeted with the sound of an owl pecking on the window. He got up, yawning, and opened it. The tawny animal fell in the room, almost giddy with the thought of a delivery. It dropped a letter into his bed and he opened it, ruffling up his hair as he yawned again.

_Lupin,_

_Met me at my house at noon today. Don't be late. I have important news for you from both myself and the Headmaster._

_S. Snape_

He tossed the letter back down onto the bed and motioned the owl out again. Severus would need no answer; he knew that Remus would be there.

From a glance at his watch on the table, he knew that it was about six in the morning.

He pulled open the wardrobe door, took out a random set of robes, and got ready. That afternoon, he would discover what he had been waiting for for eight years.

**First off, let me say that I thank you for reading. This story will be continued and will end up a novel length, I think. I have it all planned out. Don't be too irritated if I don't manage to update fast. I have a busy life and this chapter already took long enough. Also, I would like to warn you all that there may be romance later on (slash, legal ages, no I'm not going to tell yet). **


	2. Chapter 2

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

**Wednesday**

Remus was there several minutes late, which Severus took notice of. As soon as the door was open, he glanced at Remus, said, "You're late," and let him in. The house was cool compared to the warm, Autumn air outside. The shorter, dark-haired man led the way deeper into the house, motioning Remus to sit down once they reached the living room. "Sit," was the only word he said before taking a note from his pocket and unfolding it. Remus watched carefully.

"To begin, I'll be moving shortly, so this may be the last meeting here." Remus nodded. What he was really waiting for was the news from Dumbledore. That promised itself to be important. "I have finished planning the first dose of Wolfsbane Potion, and it is currently being made. Damocles Belby thinks he has found the correct procedure and he's only too glad to use you for this."

Remus caught his sour expression, but instead of making a remark on that, he asked, "Who's Damocles Belby?"

"Even you ought to know the name," Severus responded coldly. "He's a well-known potion maker. He invented the idea and formation of the potion. I'm merely helping him now with the testing." He was still standing and the note in his hands was being turned over as he read it over once. Finally, he folded it back up and handed it to Remus. "I believe this is to you, from the Headmaster. He apparently has news for you about Potter."

Remus took the letter and unfolded it quickly, glancing at the loopy handwriting that he had come to know so well. Before he could start reading, however, Severus continued talking.

"I still expect you here on Monday, on time, or else I shall have to find someone else willing. Werewolves that are willing to do such things are rare and far between, thankfully, and I prefer not to waste my time on them."

Remus felt glad, too, that the werewolves were few enough to cause a faint hint of worry in Severus' voice, though for different reasons.

He had discovered, only a few years previously, around the time Lily and James died, about the truth behind the night he had been bitten by a werewolf. He was only six at the time, and his father obviously seemed to think it was a smarter idea to just conceal the argument he had with Fenrir Greyback only days before that night. It appeared that Fenrir knew his father from a relative and was promised help from his father to get out of a situation. His father, knowing the werewolf's reputation, refused to help him; they argued for a while, and Remus heard a few, brief bits of it, though he remembered next to nothing from it.

It was terrifying, even so long after, to imagine that there were people like that around the world.

Severus stared him down for a moment before saying, "That's all of my news. I believe that the Headmaster may wish to speak to you after you read that. There's Floo Powder over the fireplace.

Remus returned his gaze to the letter and read it silently.

_Remus,_

_After our conversation yesterday, I took it upon myself to have a chat with the Minister for Magic. As you know, there are very strict guidelines when it comes to werewolves caring for small children. However, you were correct in saying I need to think about what to do with Harry for three years. The Minister saw my point after our conversation and the guidelines may have been tweaked in your favor._

_Harry is currently under my care here, at Hogwarts. Today, you may visit him but not yet take him. There are still precautions that you know of and we'll need a chance to talk about several things. One of them, as I hope you thought about, involving jobs._

_I know the laws set against werewolves and several jobs, along with the prejudices of those looking to hire. I believe I have an idea to fix that. We can talk more in depth about it once you're here._

_Yours,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Remus nodded in response to the letter and stood up. "Would that be it?" he asked quickly, securing his clock more tightly around him. Severus nodded curtly and moved aside for Remus to walk out.

"Thanks," he said before leaving.

Getting into Hogwarts was simple enough with the note, as he flashed Dumbedore's signature at the statues that asked why he was there. He met no students on the way to the office and waited patiently at the statues outside the Headmaster's office, unsure of the password. Luckily, within minutes, Minerva McGonagall passed by with several books in hand.

"Hello Remus," she said, stopping. "Waiting for Albus? Jelly Slugs."

The two gargoyles jumped out of the way for Remus and he thanked her, walking up to the door. He knocked and as soon as his hand made contact, he heard a "Come in."

Dumbledore was sitting at the desk, smiling and motioning Remus to sit in a chair near his desk. As he sat, he saw that Harry was seated next to him. He glanced at Harry and felt a strange feeling in his chest, like a small bubble trying to get out of his throat. He swallowed and smiled at Harry, who smiled faintly back.

"Harry, I assume you have met Remus before?" Dumbledore asked him politely. Harry nodded shyly and looked back down at the floor.

"He - he came by one day and said he knew my Dad." He glanced up at Remus and studied for a moment. His gaze was almost owlish, by in a shyer way as though trying to study him without being noticed. "That's all I really know."

"Well, Harry, Remus is going to adopt you soon. Until your aunt and uncle are better, at any rate." He gave Remus a look that said everything. Only until then. Only.

Only would have to be long enough.

Harry broke his gaze from Remus and stared at Dumbledore. Remus was glad to see that he did not look angry or saddened, but instead curious and almost joyful.

"Really? How long will that be?"

"I would say anywhere from a month on." Remus knew Dumbledore was mainly addressing him and felt his chest let another bubble soar into his throat. "Harry, we're still unsure of your family's condition at this point. However, I believe telling you what happened may help."

Remus met his eyes for the first time since entering the room and saw behind the bright blue color that Dumbledore looked worried.

"Harry, when you were a year old, there was a wizard by the name of Voldemort. By now, I'm sure you know plenty about wizards to understand that some of them are not good people." Remus assumed at this point that Harry had already even talked to several times but this was saved for him to be there.

Dumbledore went on for at least half an hour about Voldemort and Death Eaters and spells and the damage that had been done. Remus felt himself drift in and out of thought. It was strange to be living the nightmare again, seemingly so soon after it ended. At Sirius' name, he merely closed his eyes, trying not to think about all the memories that were flooding into his mind. He had not dwelled long about the difference there was in that day from how everything was several years ago. Peter and James and Lily and everything swirled around in such a small amount of time. When Dumbledore finished speaking to Harry, Remus dared open his eyes again. They felt rather dry compared to when he had entered and he willed himself to look at Harry's face again.

Harry's face was carefully blank when Dumbledore finished explaining everything to him. He turned slowly to Remus and gave him a look that he tried to read, but drew a blank as to what the boy was trying to say.

"So... I'm going to live with you?" he asked him quietly.

"Yes, Harry," he answered, then cleared his throat. "For a while."

He could tell from the new look of disbelief on the child's face that he was uncertain about the prospect. Harry had spent so many years with his only relatives, the ones who made his life so horrible in the first place. Now was the time to show him that there was a good in adults.

"Harry, right now Remus and I need to talk. Feel free to stay or go into the other room. This may take a little while."

Harry nodded and got off his chair, walking to the office door and opening it, walking out. Dumbledore smiled after him and turned his attention back to Remus.

"As you may have figured out from my note, there is still one matter to deal with before you can take him. I know that it's none of my business butting into your financial situation -"

"Get into any of my business as much as you wish," Remus answered, smiling slightly. Dumbledore returned the smile.

"You're going to need a job in order to raise him for whatever amount of time."

"I'm looking for one," he answered miserably, which was the truth. He had spent most of his adult life trying to find and keep a job for long, and now he was almost to a desperate search to be able to keep Harry. "It's hard finding someone to hire a werewolf."

Dumbledore must have noticed his downcast eyes for he spoke in a happier tone. "I think I may have the perfect job.

Remus glanced up at the aged face before him, curious.

"From how I've seen you act, I believe teaching would be a perfect job for you."

Remus had to admit that there were several people who would admit him to being a good teacher, and the job sounded perfect, but he had to bring up the one drawback. "Sir, Part of the point of taking in Harry is to watch him. I won't be able to then -"

"Tutoring students would work, then," Dumbledore said, smiling. "I believe that would be easy enough to do. I know of plenty of families that need to teach their children before they come to Hogwarts. Several N.E.W.T. students may be interested in having a teach over the summer if they worry about the tests."

Remus stared fixedly at the ground as though nothing else interested him. "Would they really want me to teach them, though?"

He only heard silence from across the desk, so he looked up only to find that Dumbledore was smiling warmly.

"I know of several families that could easily forget their prejudices once they meet you. Everyone is eager to tutor their own child, but time is always a factor. Would you like me to get in contact with several of them?"

Remus chewed this over for a moment. It was a perfect job, one that he had dreamed of, but then there were so many flaws there...

"Sure," he answered, smiling back.

"I know who to start with. Someone will be in contact with you in a day or two."

Remus nodded and stood up. Dumbledore excused him.

Remus left the office with another nod to Dumbledore and a large smile on his face. Outside the door, he met Harry, who was sitting near the wall, looking up at the door with hope in his face. He stood up once Remus was out there and said nothing.

"Are you ready to come with me?" he asked Harry.

"Could I just get my things?" he asked. Remus nodded and Harry dodged back into the room. From outside, Remus heard a few words exchanged between them, the sounds of something moving, and the slam of a lid. Harry came back out with a trunk like the one Remus remembered using at Hogwarts when he was a student. Harry was dragging it from one end, clearly unable to pick it up. Remus grabbed the other end, pulled out his wand, and waved it once, making the trunk float slightly into the air. Harry, amazed, watched it closely.

"I take it you haven't seen much magic yet?" Remus asked kindly. Harry shrugged.

"Every once in a while, someone'll do something, but I don't see too much of that." Remus started walking to the main hall, Harry trailing along a few steps behind him, still watching him eagerly.

Deciding to break the silence, Remus said to him, "Have you heard of Hogsmeade?" At Harry's small nod, he continued. "I live near the edge of there. We can get there rather quickly. It's only a few minute walk once we're off the grounds." He pushed open the huge front door and turned to let Harry pass before him. He followed and led the way to a single carriage waiting for them. Harry gave him a questionable look and Remus nodded to confirm before Harry climbed in. Remus placed the trunk in after and sat next to the young boy.

As the skeletal thestral pulled them along - Remus had been able to see them since around the age of twenty, during the First War, where deaths plagued them no matter where they turned - he cast around for something to talk about. However, Harry beat him to a topic.

"I - I..." He looked around nervously at the ground that was passing quickly under them. "I still don't really know you, but I do know that you knew my parents." He met Remus' steady gaze and whispered, "Could you tell me about them? I never heard anything about them."

"Not even what you heard today?"

"No."

Remus was shocked. He had known, from a brief meeting with Lily's sister that happened a few days ago, paired with the only other time they met, that she hated Lily and James. However, to deprive their son of any knowledge of the two was too much to bear. He closed his eyes for a second. Where to start? He had known Harry's parents since he was eleven years old, and every day since then they had been together, almost related.

"There's so much I can say about them," he said quietly, glancing at Harry. Green eyes stared at him from James' face. He tried not to see the resemblance to his parents buried in his face. "We've known each other for so long."

"It can wait," Harry cut in suddenly, looking alarmed. "I don't want to be trouble by asking. I was just... curious."

"That's understandable," Remus answered, smiling at him. "I'll tell you anything you want, Harry. Anything at all. All you have to do is ask. Don't expect me to remember every last waking moment, though," he joked. Harry looked very serious at this point and Remus was reminded of how he had seen James act when trying to impress Lily; so mature and eager to be on his best behavior.

They sat in silence as the thestral pulled them to the gates of Hogwarts. Remus picked up the trunk, placing another charm on it as Harry clambered out after him. He led the way down the main street and caught Harry's eye as the child looked all around him. Remus was reminded of the first time he had ever gone to Hogsmeade. There were so many buildings placed around the street with millions of items in the windows, all calling to anyone who passed. From candy to quills that stood up by themselves to dungbombs and fanged frisbees.

Harry paused a few times as he walked, staring, wide-eyed. Remus, knowing exactly how he felt, waited patiently for Harry to stare and then remember to walk along.

At the end of the road, where Harry stared at the strange sign hanging outside of the Hog's Head, Remus made a sharp right where there were several houses. He walked past all of them, making sure Harry was still trailing behind him, to the back one.

It had a pleasant little garden in the front yard with an assortment of flowers that grew all around the village. The front door was wooden like those around, with a bit on the sides starting to peel. The windows were opened a little to let in the cool breeze. Taking his wand, he tapped the door and heard the sound of a lock coming undone. In the times of peace he felt they were in, he saw no reason for too large of security measures, but he knew that since Harry would be there, something else would need to be put up.

It was a rather small house, but large enough for one man. Almost everything inside had a worn look and Harry studied his surroundings for a minute or so. From where they stood, the front room and kitchen were visible.

"I haven't had much of a chance to set up a bedroom for you yet, but it won't take too long. It's right down there." He pointed ahead of them to where, behind the wall, was a small hallway. "Should I move your trunk in there?"

Harry stared at Remus instead of answering. "I have my own room?" he asked awkwardly, as though trying not to believe it.

"Yes," Remus answered slowly, giving him a curious look. "Where did you think you would be?"

Harry just shrugged and followed Remus down the hall into the room. It was a rather small room, but it would work for Harry, who, judging by the weight of the trunk, had only a few belongings. The room contained a bed that he had put in there, along with a dresser, but was bare otherwise.

"I've never had my own bedroom before," Harry murmured, looking around. He noticed a window at the edge of the room and walked over to it, staring out at the blue sky.

Remus raised an eyebrow and did not question the statement. Maybe he and Dudley - was that the other one's name? - had shared a room. However, Harry seemed too impressed with the room for Remus to ignore it completely.

Then he remembered what Dumbledore had said: Harry had been found in the cupboard under the stairs...

"Never?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "I slept in the cupboard. The one underneath the stairs," he answered shyly.

It was then that Remus decided to have a talking to with Dumbledore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

**_Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter, because if I did, I would make Remus Lupin the title character._**

**Wednesday**

Harry and Remus were sitting across from each other at the table with a large pot of bangers and mash separating them. Harry, as it turned out, had a strange obsession with it and was spooning large amounts onto his plate and barely chewing. Remus, meanwhile, was eating slowly, watching Harry every once in a while and thinking. He picked up his mug of tea and sipped at it, winced, then added another spoon of sugar into it.

He would have his friends' child for at least a month... It was a huge deal to him and he wanted to plan out everything to be perfect.

"Harry, what do you usually do?" he asked. Harry chewed quickly and swallowed. His mouth went to one side of his face as he thought.

"Usually I work in the garden and clean."

Furrowing his brow, Remus added something else to his list of things to mention to Dumbledore. He twirled his fork around a sausage, spearing it and dragging it around his plate. "What would you like to do tomorrow?"

Harry put down his fork and stared at his plate, thinking. "Can - can I look around tomorrow? I mean, in that place we passed?"

"Of course," Remus answered. He noticed how meek and quiet Harry's voice was when asking a favor, and said, just as quietly, "Harry, don't hesitate to ask me anything. We can do anything you want."

Harry nodded shyly.

After dinner, Harry said that he was feeling tired and headed into his room. Remus sat in the front room on an old chair and faced the ceiling, head bent onto the top of the chair. Everything in front of him seemed to blur into his thoughts. Tomorrow he'd take Harry to visit the village. Easy enough. There would be messages for him, Dumbledore had said, so that would mean that he could start planning everything out. He'd do that on Friday. Saturday and Sunday... He knew that he would have to try and spend most of his time with Harry, not only for protection but -

Chewing his lip and folding his hands together, he thought about how to best approach Harry. He had not been around kids for years, and when he was, it was only for a short amount of time. Should he start talking to Harry himself? What would he talk about then?

Harry's words drifted into his head_. "I still don't really know you, but I do know that you knew my parents. Could you tell me about them? I've never heard anything about them." _

Sitting up again, Remus decided on bringing up the subject slowly and then telling Harry anything he wanted to hear.

He stood up and walked down the hall, glancing into Harry's room as he made his way into his own. Harry was under the sheets, curled up, breathing softly. Remus smiled and considered walking in, but thought better of it and went to sleep, sharing his night with dreams of Lily and James getting married, Sirius buying a motorbike, and Peter's old jokes that he missed so much.

**Thursday**

Remus woke to the sounds of birds outside his window. He rolled out of bed and stood up, leaning against the wall for support as his brain worked out who he was and where he was. There was the sound of footsteps outside his door and he went over to it, pulling it open in time to see Harry walk around the hallway.

"Harry?" he said. The boy stopped and looked up at his face, a nervous look in his eyes.

"I - I was just seeing if you were up yet," he mumbled and his eyes cast to the ground. Remus smiled.

"It's alright, Harry. I told you yesterday, there's no need to be nervous about anything. As long as you keep safe, you're fine here." Harry glanced up again and Remus saw his green eyes start to brighten as Lily's always did when she was happy.

Remus glanced back into his room and out the window, deciding that it was still around six in the morning. "I think some places will start opening closer to nine. Do you want some breakfast for now?"

Harry nodded and followed Remus back into the kitchen, where Harry helped take out the plates while Remus cooked. The eggs, once hitting the bottom of the pan, remained their until Remus hit it with his wand, causing them to sizzle. He left them there for a few minutes while turning over to heat the toast. Harry watched him heat the items up with his wand, a stunned look on his face.

"How do you do that?" he asked. Remus glanced up at him.

"Once you get to Hogwarts, you'll learn how to," he answered, smiling at the look on his face. "It's just saying the incantation and concentrating on it. Like this." He pointed to Harry's face and saw the scared expression flit across his face. "_Accio_," he said clearly to let Harry hear, and took the glasses that came up to him. Tapping them with his wand once more, he said, "_Reparo_." The glasses joined together once more and Remus carefully peeled the tape off of them and handed them back to Harry.

Now looking stunned, Harry studied them and placed them back on, mouth hanging open. "My parents could do that too?" he asked quietly.

Remus almost breathed a sigh of relief. Harry brought up the painful subject for him.

"Yes, they could," Remus answered just as quietly, picking up the frying pan and dishing out eggs onto Harry's plate and then his own. He returned it and repeated with the toast and sausages before sitting down across the small, rickety table from the child.

"Your mother, Lily, was very good with potions and charms," he explained to Harry as they started eating. "She was probably the best in our year in both classes. Well, possibly not potions," he corrected himself, smiling. "I'd say Severus was at her level." He paused and glanced up at Harry. "Have you met him? Severus Snape?"

Harry nodded and tried to hide a faint look of distaste on his face. Remus grinned.

"Plenty of people feel that way about him." He remembered his meeting with him on Monday and inwardly groaned. He would have to mention it sooner or later...

"Harry, I won't be around for part of Monday and Tuesday," he told him, playing with his eggs and twisting the slippery yolk around his fork. "I have a meeting with Severus. You'll be with Professor Dumbledore again for a little while."

Harry just nodded before swallowing. "Why?"

Remus stared at his plate, refusing to meet Harry's eyes. He felt almost guilty about hiding this from Harry so long, letting Harry trust him and even move in with him before telling him the truth. "There's this new potion that he and another man are testing."

"What's it do?"

Cursing the boy's curiosity, Remus muttered, "It - it's meant for werewolves."

He was met by silence and counted to twenty before looking up. Harry was staring at him with an odd expression on his face - curiosity and an almost disappointed look on his face. "Does that mean you're a werewolf?"

Remus lost his appetite as his stomach filled with bubbling guilt. "Yes, that means I'm a werewolf. The potion... it makes being a werewolf easier."

How did you explain to an eight year old that it makes you keep your mind rather than run off and try to kill everyone in reach?

"Do werewolves - are they..." Harry frowned, thinking of a way to ask. "Do they... you know, kill people?"

His voice lowered at the end of the sentence so much that Remus could barely get the words through his head, but he was used to these questions already to the point of knowing what Harry would ask. He felt himself pale and his heart beat became unbearably loud.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Harry. Werewolves - they - _we_ aren't always nice. We're just like everyone else most of the time, but on the full moon..." He trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

He had only been six when he had been bitten, but the feeling of pain came into him again. There had been tearing, the sounds of flesh being ripped off of the bone, jaws closing around him so many times, leaving him in a life of prejudice and hatred. He could still see the deep scars from that night.

Harry lowered his head and ate a few more bites while Remus talked. "This potion makes me safe." '_No it doesn't. It just makes_ you _safe. Your safety only affects mine because Dumbledore would kill me if anything happened to you.' _"Well, it makes me safer to be around."

"So you'll be back on Tuesday?" Harry asked. Remus, thankful for a change of subject, nodded.

"Tuesday. And then we can get back to whatever we're doing." His voice sounded too cheerful in his own head, and rather forced.

When Harry finished eating, he picked up his plate and brought it to the sink. Remus finished only a few seconds after and placed his own in, flicking his wand at the sink and letting the dishes wash themselves. They didn't dry all the way with the spell, so Remus left them out to dry.

"We still have some time," Remus told Harry, sitting beside him on a patched up couch and glancing at the clock. "What would you like to do?"

Harry shrugged. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry said, "Could I hear about my parents now?"

"What would you like to hear about them?"

Again, there was a shrug. "I dunno. Anything, really."

Remus thought for a moment as to what in their past would interest him. Maybe a prank... their wedding? When they first met? He briefly thought of sitting there forever on the old couch, suspended in that moment that he hoped would last as long as possible, next to Harry and telling him every last thing he ever said to Harry's parents, every last moment spent together.

Crashing back to reality, Remus decided on when he first met Harry, after Lily and James' wedding.

"When you were born Harry, Sirius, Peter, your father, and I - we had been friends since we were eleven - were sitting in the tearoom of St. Mungos, waiting for news on yourself and Lily. James was almost in a panic, walking around and muttering to himself about all the things that could go wrong. Peter was almost as bad, mentioning anything that James forgot. Sirius and I were trying to calm him down when a Healer came in and told us that you were both fine, and that James now had a boy. He ran into the room at once, grabbing you, and he almost danced around the hospital with you out of joy, if it weren't for Sirius making sure he did nothing stupid with you."

He remembered the incident so easily, but the memory of Sirius clouded over it and the name had a bitter taste on his tongue.

"We got out of there soon after, and James made the three of us stay with him because your mother was out of it afterwards. She went to sleep once we were back at your house. Peter, of course, started to cook, which he had taken up doing when he was nervous after - well, that's another story," Remus said, smiling at Harry. Harry was watching him with wide eyes, clinging onto every last word. "James, meanwhile, had the task of changing your first nappy." He snorted. "Lily had been teaching how to on dolls for weeks before you were born, but once he had you in his hands, he forgot all of it. He tried a few times, and refused to let Sirius or myself help, afraid that we would break you, and you managed to get it on you on his eighth try."

Harry laughed for a bit, smiling widely. "What happened when Mom woke up?"

"Lily was almost as amused as you are now," Remus told him, smiling himself. "I got to tell her of what happened because James was having too much fun playing with you. She laughed and laughed about it and said that he would be stuck changing every last nappy from then on in hopes that she would get to see him attempt it once more."

He finished the story and looked at Harry, whose green eyes were filled with a laughter than Remus had never seen in them before.

The story had taken a little while to tell, Remus noticed as he glanced at the clock. "We could start walking out there, if you want," he said to Harry, who nodded.

Remus pulled on his cloak as Harry went off to get a sweater, which was too large for him and draped around his thin frame. Frowning, Remus pulled out his wand.

"Here," he said, and waved his wand at Harry's sweater, which shrunk just enough that it looked as though it could have been his. They walked out the door and Remus locked it again with his wand from the outside, then tucked the thin rod back into his belt. The flowers around them had an early morning dew on their petals and the ground was soft as though wet.

"When was the first time you came here?" Harry asked him, turning his head.

Remus thought for a second. His parents had never taken him to Hogsmeade themselves, but only to Diagon Alley because it was so much closer. So that meant -

"It was during my third year of Hogwarts," he told Harry. "It was the four of us coming. We'd all heard so much about the place, but none of us had ever come to Hogsmeade. Had a right pleasant surprise when we got here. The shops are amazing. There's Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks, along with Zonkos and plenty of other places. I'm sure you'll love it there. I did. Still do, as a matter of fact."

Harry seemed cheered up even more by this. Remus felt into his pocket, where there were several Galleons and Sickles clanging together, enough to buy a few things. Maybe they could go back after he started tutoring and had gotten paid.

When they entered the main street, several stores had already opened. Honeydukes was already open, as was Zonkos and the Three Broomsticks, but that was apparently it at the time.

"Where would you like to go first?"

Harry's head was turning in every direction as it had been when they first saw the place. After glancing at all the shop windows, he said, "How about Honeydukes?"

"This soon after breakfast?" Remus asked, smiling at the choice made. "Good idea. They sell candy," he explained as they walked up to the highly colorful front. "All sorts, though I doubt you've ever heard of most of them."

When they entered, Harry stared wide-eyed and ran off to the Unusual Tastes wall while Remus hovered around the chocolate and fudges. They had more flavors than they did before, he noted, and he slowly glanced through them all, deciding on strawberry and one with an assortment of nuts. Harry came up to him a few minutes later with what looked like one of everything from the store - blood-flavored lollipops, some gums, toffees, Fizzing Wizbees, and licorice wands. He tried to juggle all of these in his hands before Remus came to his rescue, taking some of them and bringing the lot to the counter.

After it was rung up, Remus felt in his pocket and found only a few Galleons and loose change in his pockets. They walked outside again, laden with three bags of candy that Harry was already sifting through.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," Remus said, teeth starting to chatter. He hadn't realized it was so cold out in November, and his thin robes were not helping matters at all. Harry nodded and followed Remus into the place several doors down. The interior was warm and friendly as usual, and Madam Rosmerta passed them.

"Remus!" she called out to him. "How're you doing today?" She caught sight of Harry and paused, almost dropping the tray with several empty firewhiskey bottles on it. "Good Lord, is that - are you Harry Potter?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Luckily, Remus found himself thinking, she was not loud enough to be heard by anyone but the two. Harry nodded nervously.

"Hello," she said in a meek voice, staring at him avidly. "It's - it's amazing. Welcome to the Three Broomsticks." She glanced up at Remus. "There's a seat right over there. What can I bring you two?"

"Two butterbeers, I think," he said. When she left, Remus led Harry to the corner table.

"Professor Dumbledore said I should expect that to happen," Harry said to Remus, folding his hands on the table and staring out the window. "The special attention and stuff, I mean." He glanced up at Remus' face. "Is that going to happen more?"

"It is," Remus answered. "I'm sorry, Harry. It's one of those things that no one can help. You're special."

"You don't treat me like that." Remus figured that he must have looked nervous because Harry cut in quickly, "I'm glad. I don't like being treated like - like I'm different. I'd rather if everyone treated me like you treat me."

"No one likes to be treated like their different," Remus muttered to the table, frowning. "I really am sorry, Harry. I'll try and -"

"Don't bother trying to stop them," Harry told him, and Remus had the fleeting impression that Harry was the adult between them. "I know that they'll just try even harder if anyone tries to stop them." _'That was something I should have learned when I was his age_,' Remus thought. He smiled slightly. "It's not too bad, I suppose, though. With my aunt and uncle, I'm treated like I'm no one, or like I don't exist."

Remus felt a surge of anger and fought back the urge to yell about how horrible they are and how Harry should not go back to them ever again. "You shouldn't be treated like that," he said instead. "No one should."

Harry gave him a thoughtful look and said something that really made Remus wonder who was the more mature one between them. "People around here don't like werewolves much, do they?"

Eyes leaving the table for the first time in minutes, Remus looked at a point past Harry's shoulder where he could see the starts of snow falling against the window. "No, they don't."

Madam Rosmerta passed by them again, turquoise heels tapping the ground. She placed two mugs in front of them, smiling warmly, and Remus made to pass her the money, but she held out a hand to stop him.

"On the house today."

Remus tried to hand it to her, but she refused once more and walked away. Harry turned to Remus when she disappeared into the currents of people talking.

"There's always a good thing about being treated differently, I guess," he joked. Remus grinned.

Harry brought the mug to his mouth, trying a bit of it before making a contented sound and gulping the rest down. Remus lifted his mug in a cheer and drank his way through it slower than Harry did. Harry, once done with his drink, put the mug down and lifted up one of the Honeydukes bags. He pulled out a package of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and opened it, peering inside.

"Be careful with those," Remus warned. It would have been funny to watch the boy learn the hard way that every flavor meant every flavor, but Harry had never heard of them before. "Some of the flavors in there are dreadful. Look for the brown ones with pink spots."

Harry glanced into the box, shaking it every once in a while to turn them, and finally pulled one out and ate it. "Strawberry and chocolate?" he asked in confusion. Remus grinned.

"Those are my favorites."

While he finished his butterbeer, Harry pulled out random beans, asking Remus if he knew what they were. Spending seven years in a dorm with James Potter and Sirius Black had taught him plenty about recognizing the flavors. However, they came upon one he did not know.

"What're the red ones with purple stripes?"

"Odd-looking?" Remus answered jokingly. Harry held it up and the two peered at it. "Just try it."

"After listening to you listing off liver, dog droppings, bat guano, and human flesh?" Harry wrinkled his nose. "You try it."

Remus took the bean and bit into it. Harry, meanwhile, was digging through and finding more beans similar to it. "It's..." He felt a somewhat musty but familiar taste in his mouth that managed to get into his nostrils. It smelled odd, though not fully unpleasant. "It's dog hair," he realized, spitting it out into a napkin as Harry took the beans he found and placed them into the napkin with the chewed one.

It had tasted the way Padfoot smelled.

The two were sprawled across the chairs in the front room of Remus' house. Having lit a fire, Remus was staring into it, watching the flames dance and the smoke rise in shapes. Harry was digging through the bags once again, questioning Remus as to what each candy was.

"Blood-flavored lollipops?" Remus asked, nose wrinkled in disgust. "I'm starting to wonder whether you even read the labels on anything. Those are dreadful. Try those." He pointed to the ice mice. "Those taste much better."

Harry unwrapped the ice blue coverings on it and pulled the mouse out by the tail. "It's alive!" he yelled when it started moving in his hand. Remus shook his head.

"They're not. Like the Chocolate Frogs, it's just a spell."

Giving the mouse a confused look, Harry tried to duck his head under it to get the head into his mouth, but it kept wriggling out. As it got out again and again, an owl tapped at the window.

"Try grabbing it by the tail and front paws, then bite," he said, waving his wand at the window to open it. The owl entered, shivering off the snow from its feathers, then sat on the top of the couch. Remus pulled off a bundled up newspaper and placed several Knuts into a pouch on its leg.

"It's the _Prophet_," he explained to Harry. "The evening version, of course. Let's see." He unraveled the paper, glancing through the headings about happenings at the Ministry and news on Quidditch. When he got a few pages in, one heading caught his eye. _Death Eaters Attack Muggles In Surrey._

Remus scanned the article, seeing what it said about Harry and his family. Once he reached the bottom, he murmured, "Oh _shit_," without realizing there was a child in the room. Harry glanced up suddenly, dropping a half-eaten mouse.

"What?"

Ignoring him, Remus stood up, paper still in hand. He walked over to the fireplace and took some of the Floo Powder on the mantle, throwing it into the flames. He caught sight of Harry watching ith interest, and decided that Harry would catch up on the conversation if he stayed in the room for a few minutes.

"Hogwarts!" he shouted into the flames, throwing his head into the green fire and glaring as his head passed several grates until it stopped on a circular room where a man sat.

"Remus?" Dumbledore asked. "How are you this fine evening?"

"Have you seen the paper?" demanded Remus, still glaring into the old face. Dumbledore stood up and sat down in front of the fire to face Remus.

"Of course, I have, and I must say -"

"Why the hell have they printed this?"

He regretted it the moment it left his mouth. Lowering his eyes to the ground, he heard Dumbledore say, "It was supposed to stay secret, but the Ministry interfered yet again. I'm afraid it would be too much to Obliviate every last person in the Wizarding World who read the newspaper."

Sighing, Remus nodded. "Alright. I knew they would be doing something like this soon, anyway. It was bound to happen."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm very sorry, Remus. I'll see if I can do anything to fix this."

"No point, is there?" Remus asked. "It _is _asking too much to Obliviate every person in the Wizarding World."

He withdrew his head and waited until it felt safely on his shoulders before turning to Harry. "Harry, I believe this is going to be more difficult than anyone would have thought."

_The Dursley family of 4 Privet Drive, Surrey, were attacked by a group called the Death Eaters (supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names) on 7 November. Harry Potter, previously under their care, had been found safe in his home, and has now been relocated and is living with Remus Lupin, 29, of Hogsmeade. _

The article went on explaining who Remus was and so forth, but it was what was under it that made him worry.

_Mass Breakout from Azkaban._


	4. Chapter 4

**Miasma **

**By Dimgwrthien**

**_Disclaimer: At this point, I find it pointless to bother saying that I do not own Harry Potter, but I don't anyway, so don't sue. _**

**Friday**

Remus was up much earlier than usual, sitting up in his bed, staring out of the open bedroom door, where he could see the corner of Harry's door. Worry filled him. Dumbledore had obviously been talking about the article mentioning Harry, Remus was sure of that seeing as he had been talking about that too. If only he read the newspaper for a minute longer and saw it to tell Dumbledore abou that -

But he had to have known already. Cursing the old man to a life of misery, Remus got out of bed and closed the door, getting changed into a set of patched robes. Well, there had to be one plus side to Severus' potion; he would no longer have to repair his robes every month. He walked out into the front room, glancing at the window. There was a distant shape coming from the light of the near-full moon, and a soft noise told him an owl landed on the sill. He let it in, taking the newspaper, and depositing several more Knuts.

He unfolded it quickly and glanced through the headings. However, Remus did not have to look far to find what he wanted; more news on the breakouts were on the first page.

_The Ministry of Magic regrets to announce that, late last evening, there was an mass breakout from the prison of Azkaban. _

_Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirms that five high-security prisoners have escaped near five in the evening and has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister that they are armed and dangerous. Muggles will be informed of their carrying "guns" (a Muggle object used to kill)._

_"We feel that this first breakout is only the start," admits Fudge, looking worried. "Dementors - though still in our control! - seem to have been... slacking off their duties."_

Remus read no further than that. So more was to be expected. Bad news.

He put the paper down and rubbed his forehead, trying to think of what Dumbledore would be saying later. Another owl hit the sill and entered the opened window with a letter.

Taking the letter off and recognizing the Hogwarts crest, Remus read.

_Remus,_

_Under the current situation, there are spells that will be needed on your home for both of your's protection. Come see me at nine._

_Albus Dumbledore_

'_Like I didn't expect that to come,_' Remus thought bitterly, crumpling up the letter and glancing at the clock. It was not even six, which gave him several hours to wait. He sat at the chair, closed his eyes, and returned to sleep.

When Remus woke, the sounds of footsteps filled the house again. Harry was padding up to him, standing in the doorway with the early morning sun filtering on his face and casting shadows. Remus guessed that he must have been obvious in his thoughts, for Harry asked, "What happened?"

Remus motioned for Harry to sit next to him, and sighed. "I'm assuming you've never heard of Azkaban?" Harry shook his head. "What about Death Eaters?" Shaking his head again, Harry furrowed his brows. "Well, Harry, Azkaban in a Wizarding prison, and Death Eaters are supporters of Voldemort, whom I'm sure you've heard of."

Harry's expression was frozen in anger once Voldemort's name came up. Remus could not blame him for it.

"Well, years back, around the time you were born, the Death Eaters were - were doing horrible things." He decided that that would be enough to tell Harry, rather than going into detail about the tortures they used on Muggles, whether by magic or just their own sick imaginations. "Some of them went to Azkaban. They've escaped."

Eyes going wide, Harry asked, "All of them?"

"Not all of them," Remus corrected. "But some of them. And there's a chance that more may get out, too."

Harry moved his dangling foot around in circles, staring at it. He glanced up at Remus again and asked, "Are they out to get me?"

Yes. It was the thing Remus felt the need to tell Harry, and he knew it was true. Why would the Death Eaters break out otherwise? He knew that Azkaban must be a dreadful place - _and hopefully Sirius would rot there forever _- but would they put so much risk into getting out? The answer to the question was so obvious, but how bad would it sound to Harry? What fear could it cause?

"They are," Remus answered. The truth could not hurt Harry as much as an unexpected Death Eater attack.

Harry just nodded. "Were you expecting something like this?" Remus asked him shrewdly, watching the boy go back to dangling his feet.

"Sorta, I guess." Harry swung his legs onto the couch beside him and leaned into Remus' chest. "I mean, if I'm special to so many people, I have to be hated by some, too."

Still wondering who the adult really was in the room, Remus wrapped his arms unconsciously around Harry's thin frame and caught what he was doing. It had been so long - too long, in fact - since he had held a person that close, hugged them. It was an almost unfamiliar feeling by that point, and the cold of the day did not seem to bother him as much.

"I have to speak to Professor Dumbledore in a few hours," Remus said into Harry's untidy hair. He would have suggested combing it, but after being near James for years, he knew that it was pointless to even give it a second thought. "Would you like to come?" Either way, Remus knew, Harry would be stuck going with him. There was almost nothing to protect him from the Death Eaters at that point.

'_Except for me_,' Remus thought. _'I'm in the way.' _

"Alright," Harry murmured into Remus' chest, words slurring as he spoke. "Sounds like fun."

"Would you like some breakfast?" Remus asked, almost hoping the boy would say no so that he would never have to move again.

Harry only shrugged. "Not hungry right now." He moved his head, trying to find a more comfortable spot to rub against on the older man's body, but soon gave up. Remus remembered Sirius doing something similar when they were at Hogwarts, leaning up against him and complaining that Remus was too bony to lean against. Smiling at the memory, Remus had to admit that the problem had not yet been solved.

Don't think about Sirius.

He forced himself back into the present, still frozen there with Harry in his arms. From the deep breathing coming from him, Remus guessed that Harry had fallen asleep again, but did not make to move.

Ten o'clock came too quickly, and both were dressed fully only just in time for Remus to remember that it was near impossible to Apparate anywhere nearer to Hogwarts, and even if he could, Harry would not be able to.

Grabbing the pot of Floo Powder on the mantle, Remus lowered it to Harry's height. "This is Floo Powder. Have you ever used it?" When Harry shook his head, Remus explained, "You just throw it into the fire and say where you want to go, and it takes you there. Interested? Good. Just take a handful and throw it in - oh! _Incendio_." Remus directed his wand to the fireplace and lit the fire, turning back to Harry. "Throw it in and say 'Hogwarts' clearly. Don't panic or anything. It feels weird the first time, but it's not too bad."

Harry took a small handful of the powder and threw it into the fire, then stepped into the green flames. When he opened his mouth, Remus guessed ash scrpt in, for his voice sounded weak while he said, "Hogwarts!" Remus followed soon after, managing to keep a clear mouth.

Once falling out into the Headmaster's office, he found Harry on the ground, having fallen from the fire, coughing. Remus picked him up and placed him back down on the ground, clapping his back to help him breathe. When Harry stopped coughing, Remus repaired his now-broken glasses and gave them back.

"That - that was weird," Harry spluttered, wiping his mouth with his long sleeve. Remus smiled.

"You'll get used to it."

However, at these words, Remus wondered if Harry would get used to it soon. If he only had about a month with the boy, there would be so little time to do so much.

An amused voice came over them. "Have a fun trip, Harry?" Dumbledore had appeared behind them, having just stood up from sitting in a large armchair. He glanced at Remus. "I am surprised to see that you've shown him the magic of Floo Powder so early." He smiled at Remus' look. "It's better to show him now rather than when he's in a constraint of time while leaving."

"Yessir," Remus answered, almost reverting to school-boy manners.

"I believe we have several matters concerning Harry's safety - and your own - to discuss. Harry, I think it would be best if you sat in on this. Come." He led them both to the set of chairs where he had been sitting. Harry and Remus both sat, but Dumbledore remained standing, picking up a piece of parchment. He glanced at it. "First off, spells will need to be cast, including - but not limited to - the Fidelius Charm." Remus nodded. "Would you like me to be your Secret Keeper."

"Yes," Remus answered without bothering to think it over. He trusted no one in the world more than he trusted Dumbledore. He had to admit, the man made mistakes, many of them, but he would never betray them.

"Good. We can preform the spell once this meeting is over. Next, Remus, I believe teaching Harry side-along Apparation would be a good idea, along with a basic guide to Floo Powder." He smiled at Harry, who gave him a faint smile. "I believe it is also time to teach Harry several defensive spells. I will assure the Ministry that he in safe hands and that he will not misuse this power. Head up to Diagon Alley at any time you wish to pick up a wand. I daresay Mr. Ollivander will be very interested to meet you, Harry. It appears he is very interested in the type of wand you will choose." Lowering his voice slightly, Dumbledore told him, "Mr. Ollivander is not one of the people who is interested in your gift. He is interested in you as a person. He knew your parents too, not too personally, but he can tell so much about a person by their wand."

Harry just nodded, sounding amazed at more mentions of his parents.

"I would suggest defensive spells, along with simple jinxs in case of an attack, which should be unlikely after the Fidelius. Does that sounds good to you, Harry?"

He nodded, then asked, "So I'll be allowed to use magic?"

"Not quite," said Dumbledore. "While Remus teaches you, you can practice them, but other than that, you may only use these spells as a defense when being attacked. It is hard enough to convince the Ministry to allow you to use them then. You'll have a small headstart to the children going to Hogwarts in your year, and they will have no power if anything happens to them at this point." He frowned. "I've been trying to convince Cornelius to ease up on the underage wizardry laws for years, but he won't listen." He shook his head quickly before returning to Remus. "Do you understand what Harry needs to learn?"

Remus nodded. "I'll be onto that as soon as possible."

"That's settled. Take this." He handed the parchment to Remus. "A list of spells that you should teach him at once." Remus took it and glanced over it before pocketing it. "The next matter I have to speak with you is a note passed on from Severus. He says to meet him at the same time and date, but you will report to his new address." He took another parchment off his desk, which had been ripped into pieces, Remus could tell, and scrawled onto a piece, then handed it to Remus, who pocketed that, too. "And last of all, I have several notes for you from people willing to be tutored by you." He handed Remus another several pieces of parchment, all of which seemed to have been resealed and addressed to Remus. He smiled.

"Thank you, sir." Dumbledore nodded and moved out of the way, waving his hand at the fireplace.

"After you," he said. "We can preform the spell at once. I believe Minerva would be more than happy to preform the actual spell." He raised his wand, waved it once, and Remus watched as a phoenix burst from the end of it, running through the walls and out of sight.

"What was that?" Harry asked, amazed.

"A Patronus," Dumbledore answered. "They're very useful, whether against dementors or sending a message." He handed the small packet of Floo Powder to Remus, who took some and entered the fire, finding himself at his home very quickly. Harry followed him soon after, managing to stay upright on his landing, and crashing into Remus. Remus swung the boy out of the way as Dumbledore appeared, looking as if he rather enjoyed the whole thing.

He turned back and glanced at the fire, watching as a fourth shape came through, and there was Minerva McGonagall again, straightening her glasses and brushing dust off of her green robes. She gave Harry a rare smile and Harry returned it.

"Minerva, would you be so kind as to preform the Fidelius Charm using myself as the Secret Keeper?"

Paling slightly, she answered, "Albus, is that needed? I mean, it's so difficult and only used when -"

"I am sure that the protection is needed," he answered back rather sternly. "Let us step outside."

The group walked outside, and Harry stared at everyone in turn as though asking for an answer as to what was going on. McGongall had already taken out her wand and looking between Remus and Dumbledore. Remus and Dumbledore both took out their own wands, holding them at their sides.

Remus had never seen the spell preformed. All he knew was that it was rather like taking an Unbreakable Vow, though the results were different.

"Remus Lupin, do you understand the risks of taking Albus Dumbledore as your Secret Keeper?" she asked him, looking rather nervous.

"Yes," he answered.

"Albus Dumbledore, do you recognize the risks there are in taking the position of Remus Lupin's Secret Keeper?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered, looking rather serious.

McGonagall watched as two gold threads floated from each of the men's wands and hovered in the air for a moment, linking, then slowly becoming invisible.

"Remus, tell the address to Albus."

"Eighteen Miasma Lane, Hogsmeade."

Dumbledore repeated the adress back to him, and then McGonagall closed her eyes, moving her lips as she made difficult movements with her wand. Harry watched everyone in confusion.

When Remus saw her open her eyes again, she glanced around. "I think it worked. Harry, does anything look different to you?"

Harry glanced around and gasped. "The house is gone!" he said, pointing to what Remus knew would be a nothing that used to be his house.

"Good," Dumbledore said, waving his wand and catching a pen and parchment that fell from the air. "These are amazing Muggle inventions," he told Remus at his confused look. "Pens make quills look so hard." He unscrewed the top and wrote on the parchment. Then, he handed it to Harry. "Read this and memorize it, Harry."

Harry did so and handed back the paper, which Dumbledore pocketed. "Now think about it.

Closing his eyes as he did so, Harry waited before opening again, and gasped. "It's back!" he told them excitedly.

"I'm assuming that will be it?" McGongall asked Dumbledore, pocketing her wand. When he nodded, Dumbledore turned back to Remus and placed an aged hand on his shoulder.

"Take care," he said to Remus, squeezing his shoulder. He walked over to Harry and said something to him, but Remus was too busy thanking McGonagall and admiring her spellwork to listen. Finally, the two teachers turned and walked out of the street.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"I'll tell you once we're inside," Remus answered, still gazing around. "It'll take a while to explain, so feel free to get out your candy."

The rest of the afternoon was spent telling Harry - who munched happily on chocolate frogs and picking his way through boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, which he grew to know - about the Fidelius Charm and what it did. The boy was in open-mouthed amazment during most of the talk, asking more questions than Remus would have thought possible from such a small boy.

Remus ended by telling Harry that his parents were under the Fidelius Charm, too, which he was not sure wasa smart thing to do once Harry asked him the question he had been dreading to answer.

"Who was their Secret Keeper?"

There were two choices, Remus knew. He could lie to the boy and deny the knowledge, or he could tell the truth straight out and risk loosing his temper. However, while thinking of his own father holding the truth about the werewolf who had really bitten him and how he flared up then about keeping such an important thing secret, he knew that Harry deserved the truth. The truth, he knew, no matter how painful, was important. It would have helped so much during the First War to know about Greyback when he went to get the werewolves on their side. All of the hints Greyback dropped had suddenly made sense once he was told the truth.

"It was our friend, Sirius Black." After a moment of silence, Remus added, "He's in Azkaban."

"Why did my parents die then? Was he a Death Eater?" Harry did not seem too disturbed about the information yet, though Remus figured the way he acted after living with the Dursleys may have had something to do with his own temper.

"He ended up being a Death Eater," Remus explained quietly. "But Harry, it's - it's not something to talk about, really." '_What I really mean_,' Remus thought bitterly, _'is that if you make me talk about it, you really will be the only adult around_.'

Instead, he said, "Harry, could you pass me some of my chocolate? I think it got into one of your bags."

**_I love reviews, and would like to take this time to say that I thank each and every one of those who took the tie to review. :) I love feedback, and it makes me giddy and proud to think that I made a story worth reading. Thank you so much!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series. Really. If I did, I would currently be vacationing in Scotland with my friends while sipping wine from expensive glasses. That actually sounds like fun, though I doubt I'll be doing that any time soon. Thank you.**_

**Friday**

The parchments in Remus' pocket were starting to annoy him from their crinkling every time he moved. He had been trying to avoid reading them for a reason he did not know, but he took out the handful by noon and glanced through them. The first one had the list of spells to teach Harry, which Remus decided on starting once he finished reading the others. The second was more torn than before, thin, black ink in cramped handwriting with a blurred address, which Remus set to the side.

Finally, he reached three letters from parents of students from Hogwarts.

The first one was from a woman he recognized, Augusta Longbottom, who was the mother of Frank Longbottom, who Remus knew so well before he went insane. Her handwriting, both loopy and light, read:

_Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I trust your choices enough to believe that Mr. Lupin would be a fine teacher. I remember meeting him on several occasions also and know that he was a friend of my son's. Could you pass on my acceptance of him teaching Neville? Neville seems to be getting a slow start with magic, and maybe a change of setting and people could coax something out of him. He could do with proper learning that I am afraid I am unable to give to him at the present time. I'm always free to drop him off on Fridays and Saturdays. Thank you._

_Yours sincerely, _

_Augusta Longbottom_

Remus glanced through the letter again and placed it down on his lap, glancing up to see Harry reading a book he had taken down from a bookshelf.

"What do they say?" Harry asked, seeing that Remus spotted him.

"Just people saying that they want me to tutor their children," Remus answered, trying his best to mask the hint of pride in his voice. Harry grinned.

"How many?"

"Three." When he saw the eager look on Harry's face, he asked, "You want to meet them, don't you?"

Harry failed just as badly as Remus at hiding his true feelings. "Well, it's interesting to meet other… people with my talents."

Remus nodded and glanced at the second letter, which was in a handwriting he did not recognize.

_Albus,_

_Personally, I would never let a werewolf teach my children, but after going to your school for seven years, I have to say that you were always good at choosing teachers. I hope you haven't lost that talent yet. I think Phoebe might be better off getting some tutoring before her N.E.W.T.s. Tell Lupin that I accept. Phoebe is free on Wednesday for as long as needed, so I hope he's ready to teach her on those days._

_Sincerely,_

_Nick Johnson Jr._

Frowning at the crudely hidden prejudice, Remus set that letter aside. Harry heard the shifting of the parchment, Remus guessed, for he looked up again.

"How did that one go?"

"I'm not sure they'll like me," Remus answered lightly.

_Mr. Dumbledore,_

_Whitney, my daughter, is in need of as much tutoring as possible. She's not doing too well at this point. I see that you are offering a man by the name of Remus Lupin for tutoring. Although wary of this choice, I need someone to teach her while I work. My wife left a while ago, as you know -_

Remus did not want to hear of the man's problems, and skipped to the bottom, to see the surname 'Wesley'. He placed the final letter on top of the other two and folded them all back up.

"I'll be back in a moment," Remus told Harry, getting up and walking into his bedroom. He shrugged out of his robe, taking off his belt and letting his large shirt hang loose on him. He took a slip of parchment from his desk along with a quill and sat down. He wrote a reply to the first person, Augusta. Once he finished, he glanced over the letter again.

_Mrs. Longbottom,_

_It's been a long time since I've spoken to you. The Headmaster has passed your letter on to me, and I would be overjoyed to help work with Neville. I'm free to tutor him at any time you wish, so Fridays and Saturdays would be perfect to tutor Neville. Just send a reply back and this weekend we'll be able to start. Thank you very much for considering this. It means a lot to me._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Remus Lupin_

He figured the letter would work for the time being, and took another parchment from the stack before writing a reply to the second and third. He had to suffer through the complaints of Wesley's loss of wife, and had to dig through the schedule he made for himself in self pity. It appeared that on Sundays, he remembered back when his wife and he cooked large meals and made out halfway through cooking. Mondays were when he remembered when his wife left him on a Monday months before, throwing open the door with a "blazing passion" and having her "golden tresses of hair" flat about her face that was "full of rage, and yet so beautiful, pearly tears streaming from her chocolate brown eyes." Tuesdays were when he remembered going to the beach with her and swimming with her in some distant country, while, "I forgot", Thursdays were the days in which his could give up his daughter to learn.

On the second reply, however, Remus froze. The girl would be free on Wednesday, which was less than two days after the full moon. Remus had no clue how long he would take to heal after testing the potion, and replied that the time was subject to change, depending on several matters. He felt that was enough to say to the man, and sent the letters off.

He placed down the quill again, stretching and glancing around. It was nearing one already. He got up, walking back to where Harry was and asked, "Do you want lunch now?" before taking out two plates and opening the ice box. He glanced in. "Would you like sandwiches?"

Harry stood up and walked over. "Sure," he answered, helping Remus get out several ingredients. He directed his wand to the knives, getting them to start chopping the lettuce and tomatoes before getting the rest out by hand. Harry and he made their sandwiches rather fast, sitting down to eat within minutes.

"When are you going to be teaching them?" Harry asked, still apparently amazed at the fact that he would soon be meeting other magical children.

"Phoebe is coming Wednesday, Whitney on Thursday, and Neville on Friday and Saturday," Remus recited, looking up as he tried to remember their names and the dates. "Phoebe is sixteen or seventeen, I'm guessing, Whitney is fourteen or fifteen, and Neville is a day older than you."

Harry brightened up at the mention of Neville being only a day older. "Have you met the last one? Neville?"

"I haven't actually met him, but I knew his parents," Remus answered, picking up a fallen tomato slice. "Your parents knew them, too." He glanced over the table to Harry, who started putting down his sandwich, listening intently. "I'll make you a deal," Remus said to Harry, placing down his own sandwich. "We're going to head down to Diagon Alley when we're done, get you a wand, and then we're heading back here. For every spell you learn, I'll tell you anything you want about your parents to the best of my knowledge."

Harry grinned widely, more so than Remus had ever seen on his thin face, and gobbled down the rest of his sandwich as fast as he could. Remus smiled and tried to finish just as fast. When they were both done, Remus got the dishes to start washing themselves and got the Floo Powder again.

"Sorry, Harry, but it's the only way to get their fast for now."

Harry grimaced and took the powder, throwing it in and disappearing with a sharp cry of the name. Remus followed, and repeated the process, finding himself covered in a bit of ash behind Harry, who was wiping his glasses.

"I really hate that," Harry muttered, fixing the glasses on his nose. He glanced around. "Where are we?"

"This is the Leaky Cauldron," Remus answered, looking around at the full bar. "That's Tom, the inn-keeper."

The old man smiled at them when he saw them enter and waved. Remus waved back, leading Harry to the backdoor. He saw the brick wall before them and said to Harry, "You get into Diagon Alley through this. You just..." He reached up and tapped several bricks, then watched them moved around to form a magnificent archway that he remembered seeing when going to buy his own Hogwarts supplies.

Harry stared at the arch, mouth open, then saw what was beyond it. His jaw dropped more and Remus smiled to himself. He led the boy down the busy street, leading the way to the near back, right-hand shop, seeing the single wand in the window. "You can look around after this. We just need to hurry."

Luckily, Harry did not ask why. Remus assumed he was smart enough to catch what was going on.

They entered, the musty smell of wood and dirt filling their nostrils. Harry walked up the counter, hands in his pockets and glancing at the shelves of wand cases while Remus stood behind him.

Reaching out a hand, Remus grabbed Harry's shoulder, squeezing it gently, hoping to ease the boy's anxiety.

It was then that Ollivander appeared, large grey eyes staring them down in the shadows. "Welcome, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin. I heard the news that Mr. Potter was with you," he said to Remus. Remus nodded, remembering the _Daily Prophet. _"He's here very early. The Headmaster told me he would be coming at this early age. It's a pleasure to see you again after all these years. Twelve inches, oak, with unicorn hair, I believe. Very good for charms, sturdy make." Remus nodded. "And, Mr. Potter, your parents -"

Remus listened to him list of Lily and James' wand makes, listing the characteristics of them. He waited through Ollivander's measurements of Harry, and watched with mild amusement as the wands showed no acceptance of Harry. He waved them around until they were snatched from his hand, then replaced with another. Remus took to watching the people outside the window after about four wands. Finally, he heard something - not quite a sound, but more the feeling of a sound passing by his ears. He turned in time to see the red and gold sparks shoot from Harry's wand and disappear before they hit the ground.

Ollivander grinned and yelled out, "Bravo! Well done, Mr. Potter." Remus smiled despite himself and Harry turned to him, raising the wand with a look of triumph. "Very well done, however curious it may be."

"What's curious?" Harry asked, his smile starting to fade.

"I remember every wand I have ever sold in my life," he explained. "Each wand is different you see, though sometimes elements from the wand match, such as the same yew tree's wood. However, the phoenix who has their tail feather in your wand gave one other feather, only one, and it resides in the wand of he who gave you that scar." He pointed to Harry's forehead and Remus felt his hands tighten around his other behind his back. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches, yes, phoenix tail feather. The wand always chooses the wizard, remember that. I think that everyone can expect plenty of great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, but very great."

Harry's brow was furrowed. He did not say anything however, and Remus dug in his pocket for the money and handed it over before guiding Harry back into the bright street.

"That was weird," Harry said as they exited. Remus was holding his shoulder and had a hand on his wand, just in case. Ollivander's mention of Voldemort reminded him of the threat that followed Harry everywhere he walked, no matter now protected. Remus nodded and saw that Harry had taken to looking around once again. His eyes landed on the brooms in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Wizards do use brooms?" he asked, craning his head to see it again.

"Yes," Remus answered. "For traveling and a game called 'Quidditch'."

"How's Quidditch work?"

"There are two teams, seven players each. There's a Keeper, who blocks the goals -" Remus spent the entire walk back to the Leaky Cauldron explaining how Quidditch is played, trying to remember the games he watched James play back at school. "You father played on a House team at school. Chaser." Harry smiled.

"Neat! Can I be on a House team?"

"Once you're at school and know how to play," Remus told him, also grinning. "I have a feeling you will have inherited that talent from your father." The bar was still rather crowded, and Remus led Harry into the front of the room, watching him disappear from view through the fireplace. He followed yet again, wondering if a day would come when he would not have to use Floo Powder.

Harry was already waving his wand around, looking at every inch of it, amazed by the wood, it seemed. "Can we start now?" he asked eagerly. Remus nodded and pulled out his own wand. _"Accio parchment,"_ he said clearly, and the parchment Dumbledore had given him zoomed towards him. He caught it with his left hand and soothed it out on the table.

"First, it looks like, I should show you Apparation. Well, Side-Along, you're too young to actual Apparate. It's simple," he explained to Harry. "It makes you appear somewhere else. For this, all you have to do is grip my arm. Should we try it?" Harry nodded, obviously too eager to try magic for words. "Tightly, please. I haven't done Side-Along in a long time." Remus closed his eyes, concentrating on a spot just outside the house, then started a turn while stepping forward, feeling Harry still o his arm. He took in a breath before he felt himself jammed into a tunnel, traveling fast, before hitting the ground again and ending the turn. Harry was still on his arm, which was lucky, as he fell forward and was able to get his balance back.

"That - that was..." Harry gasped, staring wildly around. "That was almost as bad as Floo Powder, no offence." Remus smiled.

"Apparation is the fastest way of travel, though it's the hardest and takes the longest to get used to. Just between the two of us, I almost tried to fail my test, I hated it so much as first." Harry gave him a weak grin. "Should we try once more? Back to the front door? We won't be able to Apparate inside with the charm," he said in a low undertone. Harry grabbed his arm again, and Remus concentrated on the wooden front door, finding himself there seconds later. He tapped the door with his wand, hearing a chain fall and a trace of sound from spells being broken through, then entered, sealing the door again.

"You've mastered that, I'd say," Remus told him.

"I didn't really do anything," Harry answered, shrugging and sitting on a chair. Remus perched himself on the edge of the table.

"However, it's an important skill. And I believe I told you that for every spell you mastered, I'd tell you something about your parents." He placed down his wand and glanced at Harry.

"What were my parents like, personality-wise, I mean?" Harry asked.

Remus chewed this over. "Your mother - she was witty and charming, I'd say. She was kind to friends and strangers, but when someone got on her nerves, she was quick on her feet, able to think up anything in the world. Very talented, too. Your father. He was... a trouble-maker, no doubt about it. All four of us were," he said with a smile. "But James was the one with the ideas and able to carry out any plan, no matter how hard or strange. I think that's why they clicked together. I would not be surprised to find you able to think up a world of possibilities in a second."

Harry smiled.

"Next spell time, I think," Remus said to Harry, glancing at the list. Body-Bind Curse. It stops the other person from moving by freezing them, really." Remus picked up his wand from the table. "The incantation is _Petrificus Totalus_," he said. "And you move the wand like this." He gave the wand a jabbing sort of motion, though pointed upward. "Try it on me once I move over here." He moved in front of the couch, which was sure to break his fall.

Harry raised the wand, making the jabbing motion rather violently, and saying, "_Petricifus Totalus!"_ loudly. Remus did not feel his limbs snap together.

"It's _Petrificus_," he told Harry. Try again. And smoother motions may help, too."

"_Petrificus Totalus,_" Harry said, jabbing the wand slower, concentrating on the upwards movement. Remus started to feel a bit stiff, and his arms would not move, though he was still able to walk. _'I must look like a penguin_,' he thought, smiling to himself.

"Well done!" he told Harry. "It's not fully done, but that's better than most tries I've seen. Concentrate on freezing me, not just the motions. It takes a split mind to perform some spells. After a while it will be more natural."

"_Petrificus Totalus,_" Harry murmured again, this time quietly, eyes narrowed on Remus, obviously concentrating as much as possible. Remus felt his legs snap together this time, leaving him to fall onto the couch, feeling his head make contact with the hard top of it. He was unable to close his eyes against the pain, and was motionless on the ground.

Harry rounded around him, looking scared, already with his wand dropped in fright. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Should I do anything?"

Remus tried to shake his head and tell him he was fine and that the spell worked, but he could not move at all.

"Is there anything to stop it?" Harry asked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Remus tried to grin again. Within minutes, Harry had taken to sitting next to where Remus had fallen, watching him, curled up in a ball. Another few minutes passed, and Remus felt an ease over his fingers, and started to move them. When he face became unfrozen, he was left there, still, his legs frozen.

"Well done," he said to Harry, clearing his throat. He hated the feeling after coming out of the jinx. He felt sore an cramped up for at least an hour after it wore off. "I say you've managed that one rather well. I suggest trying it more to make sure you can get it on the first try rather than the third." He shook his legs, getting the last of the feeling of numbness off. "Try it again."

"First," Harry said to him, "is there a way to make it come off faster."

Remus smiled, glad that he asked. "_Finite_," he answered. "Same wand movements."

Harry raised his wand, using the Body-Bind Curse once more, getting Remus full-on this time. He walked next to him, making the same motions, muttering, "_Finite_" under his breath several times before Remus felt himself move again.

"Very good, Harry!" he said. "Excellent. I think you've got that spell down perfectly. Keep this up and I think we could have the basics own within two days! Possibly less!" He was smiling widely, proud of what Harry had managed so far. "What would you like to know this time?"

"The truth," Harry answered, staring him down. "I want to know full details of the night my parents died."

_**I would like to thank every last one of my reviewers. You guys and gals make my day! I love waking up to find another review for this story. In fact, to thank all of you, for everyone who reviews this chapter, write down a quick little plot and I'll write a one-shot for you! C'mon, people. Sounds like fun, right?**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to the Harry Potter series. They belong to J.K. Rowling. If I owned Harry Potter, Severus Snape would totally be going out with the Giant Squid. Yeah, I support that ship to some extent. Deal with it.**_

**Friday**

Remus stared at Harry, whose green eyes were narrowed slightly. He did not look angry at all, but instead he had a defiant look on his face, mixed with a hint of curiosity. Taking in a deep breath, Remus took a seat on the couch, waiting until Harry was sitting next to him.

"It's a long story, really," Remus answered slowly, trying to think of a way to explain everything. "And I don't know the full version."

"Who does know it all?" Harry asked. His voice carried like a question, but there was an undertone of wanting to find that person and find out everything.

"Sirius," came the answered from a burning throat. Remus swallowed, trying to stop a lump rise to his throat, and started. "As you already know, your father, James, Sirius, Peter, and I were friends at school. Voldemort was already starting to kill, for what reasons, I'm still wondering. However, Professor Dumbledore started a group - the Order of the Phoenix - and we tried to fight Voldemort. The four of us were in it, along with plenty of others. Then - then people started dying, either at Voldemort's hands or a Death Eater's. Professor Dumbledore went to your parents, one day, and told them that he had a tip off that Voldemort was after them. They went into hiding, with you, of course, and used the Fidelius Charm to protect themselves."

He swallowed again, trying to keep his voice even. Even this long did not numb the pain of the story. "Sirius was their Secret Keeper. However, he must have been working as a spy for Voldemort, because he - he told Voldemort where to find you all. Not even a week after he was made Secret Keeper, he told Voldemort where to find you all. By the sounds of it, what I heard from Professor Dumbledore and such people, your parents put up a good fight. However, Voldemort came to you, and used the Killing Curse, but it didn't work." Remus did not feel the need to add in how he felt when he heard that news; there had been one ray of hope in that day, the fact that Harry was alive, that not everyone was gone.

"I have no clue why it did not work. You got that scar, and that's all. Nothing else. He was dead - well, I think he died. Professor Dumbledore, however, has different views on the matter. After the happening, however, Hagrid - have you met Hagrid?" Harry nodded.

"He's nice."

"Yes," Remus answered. "He is. He found you there. Supposedly Sirius was there, too, and offered Hagrid his motorbike to bring you to Professor Dumbledore. He used to have a motorbike, I forgot to mention. He enchanted it to fly. One of the most terrifying things in the world to ride. And then you were with the Dursleys. That's all I know." He broke off, his voice breaking as he stopped. He glanced at Harry and saw that his green eyes were filled with tears, though none fell onto his pale face.

"Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry answered, his voice ragged like Remus'. He looked down at his hands. "So they died because Sirius betrayed them? That's the truth?"

"Yes," Remus answered, hating himself for burdening Harry with the story. "At some point, right after leaving your house, he found Peter. Peter mentioned that Sirius was at fault for their deaths, then Sirius killed him along with twelve Muggles." He took in a shaky breath, clasping his hands together to stop them from shaking. "He went to Azkaban shortly after, laughing."

"Why was he laughing?" Harry asked, sharply glancing up.

"I have no clue," Remus told him. In truth, he wondered whether Sirius was crazy, or happy, or maybe he could see what he had done, and felt so guilty about doing it that he had to laugh. Having known pain long enough to understand, Remus knew that laughing would always be less painful than crying.

Harry remained silent, so Remus stretched out an arm, hoping he could at least help Harry with something that was his fault for explaining. He could have refused to answer... Harry moved into his arm and Remus wrapped a hand around his shoulder, bringing Harry into a half-hug.

After several minutes of sitting like that, Remus heard sniffing from Harry and saw that he was wiping his eyes frantically.

"It's alright," Remus said soothingly, wrapping his free arm around Harry, too. "It's alright..."

"You got to meet them," Harry said in a strangled voice. "I wish I could have."

"Anyone who ever met them was lucky, Harry," Remus answered back, running one hand through his black hair. "You're the luckiest of them all to carry their name. And James' hair," he muttered, trying to untangle his hand from the messy hair.

He had no clue how long the sat there, but Remus became aware of silence after possibly a half-hour and saw that Harry had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled to himself and closed his own eyes, falling into a sleep filled with laughter and images of Sirius and Peter.

**Saturday**

After having spent several more hours the previous day working on spells, Harry seemed to be catching onto them faster. Remus had worked him through the list to _Protego_, which Harry managed rather quickly. That was lucky, Remus had told him, or else Harry would have been unconscious from the spells Remus tried against it.

In the early morning, they had started up with the spells again.

"Next, I think I should teach you something that's not really a spell, but it's helpful. It sends sparks into the air, in case you're in danger and need to alert someone. It's one of the most simple spells. _Partum Mico,"_ Remus said, holding it wand up as red spark shot from the tip of his wand. Just aim up. Concentrate on a color to change the color."

Harry held his wand up, muttering, "_Partum Mico_." Green sparks shot from his wand into the air, then faded out.

"Good," Remus told him, smiling. "It's possible to do the spell without speaking, too. You can do so with any spell, but this one is the easiest. Just concentrate on the word, and it should work easily.

Harry screwed up his eyes, tongue between his teeth, and sparks shot out. "I did it!" he said happily.

Remus nodded. "Wonderful." He glanced at the paper. They had gone through Disillusionment Charms, he saw, and that meant -

"We're done," Remus said blankly, staring at the parchment in surprise. He smiled at Harry. "You got through those awfully fast. Should we practice some of them more?" At Harry's nod, he glanced through the list. "Try a binding spell." He placed himself in front of a chair again, waiting for the spell.

"_Incarcerous," _Harry mumbled, staring Remus down. Ropes flashed from the end of his wand and Remus found himself tied together, the ropes strong and unbreakable. He fell backwards onto the couch from the blow and nodded at Harry.

"Sorry," Harry said, going back to his usual apologies after using a spell on Remus. He untied his hands and started working through the knots with ease after so many times he had done that.

Remus felt a twinge on the back of his head when Harry cut the rope, and found that, even when it was off, his head was still throbbing.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked. Remus guessed that he must have winced at some point.

"Fine," he answered, rubbing his wrist where a deep mark appeared from the tight ropes. "Just... not feeling well."

This was perfectly true, he knew. For the several days surrounding the full moon, he knew that he would not be in too good of shape for testing spells on. He remained on the chair, shoulders hunched slightly.

"Are you tired?" Harry asked hesitantly. He was giving Remus a critical look and placing his wand into his belt. "Because we can do this another day, if you want."

Remus blew out air from his mouth and ran his fingers through his hair. He should not be feeling this bad yet; tomorrow, possibly, but not this early. "I'm fine. Let's take a short break. Would you like some lunch yet?" he asked, seeing the clock that read the time as noon.

Harry shrugged and started getting out dishes while Remus pulled out pots. "How about some -" Before he could finish speaking, there was a sound from the fireplace and he found Severus Snape there, glancing at around, then spotted Remus.

"That was sudden," Remus said to him, frowning. "Severus, why are you here?"

Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a thin vial. "I believe you ought to remember about Monday evening." He handed Remus the vial, which, he saw, was filled with a light brown potion. "This is the Wolfsbane Potion. I believe it will be stronger if you take it several days in a row. Drink it."

Remus stared at the vial and uncorked it, then sniffed. "It smells horrible," he said, making a face.

Severus stared at him. "It secures your safety, not your sense of smell." Remus drank it, feeling the thick mixture spill into his mouth, burning his tongue and sliding down his throat. He grimaced and grabbed onto the mantelpiece for support as he tried to swallow. When he managed to, he tried to regain his breath.

Taking the vial back rather roughly, Severus said, "Tomorrow will be the second dose, and Monday you shall receive it once you are at my house. I assume you collected the address," he said, glancing around once more as though bored and spotting Harry. Remus nodded.

"Yes. And once again, tha -"

Severus was gone already with a loud popping sound.

"Can't he Apparate with the potion?" Harry asked, staring at where Severus was, confused.

"That usually ruins a potion," Remus explained, staring to make a soup. They remained silent for a while as he cooked, and ate with only a few words spoken between them.

Since taking the potion, Remus felt faintly ill and once he finished eating, he remained sitting for a while, eyes shut tight, hands clenched in his lap.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Harry asked him in a worried voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine," he answered once more, not wanting to worry Harry. He opened his eyes and saw that Harry was staring him down. "Well, no. Not perfectly well, but it's to be expected."

"So it's because of being a werewolf?" Harry asked shrewdly, giving Remus a curious look. When Remus nodded, Harry asked, "I thought being a werewolf was just being able to turn into a werewolf whenever you want."

"It's a bit more complicated than that," replied Remus, standing up. "Would you like some tea?" He started filling the kettle with water and finding the tea leaves.

"Yes, please. So, what happens when you're a werewolf?"

Remus frowned with his back turned to Harry, wishing that he would stop asking questions of that nature, but replied, "Well, first off, werewolves only transform on the full moon, which is painful enough in itself without everything else." The kettle was whistling, so he poured out the water into the mugs. "And, as you know, you'll be with Professor Dumbledore for those days."

Harry nodded and took the mug from Remus. "Thanks." He took a sip. "When are the kids you're tutoring coming?"

"Starting on Wednesday," Remus told him, remembering suddenly. He would have to ask Dumbledore about what each year was learning for the two already at Hogwarts.

Harry fell silent once more, drinking his tea and keeping his eyes on the table. This silence lasted several minutes until -

"How long have you know Professor Snape?" Harry asked, glancing up.

"Since I was eleven," Remus answered, trying to keep the faintest trace of distaste from his voice. Severus had never done him any good, when he thought about it, but hovered like a sore for years. "We were the same year at Hogwarts, but he was in Slytherin. I was in Gryffindor."

"Why does he act like that? I mean, he just left without a word, and he was never too nice to me when I was at Hogwarts."

Remus put down his mug. "Severus was never too fond of your father and the rest of us."

"Why?"

Because we made his life hell. "I think he was somewhat jealous of James. Your father was talented and brilliant. Popular, too. Everyone liked James. He shone." Harry was staring him down again, whether on purpose or that was just the way he looked at Remus, he did not know. "Well, we - we were not too kind to him, I have to say. James and Sirius were trouble-makers, I've told you, and Peter and myself did not help." He smiled. "He's bitter about it."

"That explains a lot. So he hates me because he hated my dad?" Harry asked. Remus shrugged.

"To some degree, I'd say that's it."

"That's messed up," Harry said suddenly. "I'm not doing anything to him."

"I know you're not." Remus watched Harry twirl his empty mug in his hands. "Let's get back to practicing spells."

**Sunday**

Remus woke feeling worse than the day before. He covered his head with his arms, grumbling into the pillows and forcing himself to wake up. Footsteps were outside his door once more, and he knew that Harry would be waking up. Several minutes passed before he was out of bed, and then he dressed quickly, sifting through his shirts to find one.

As usual, he greeted Harry and made breakfast, exchanging several words with Harry. It was unusually cold outside and inside, so he lit a fire and the two spent a good part of the morning in front of it, steaming mugs in their hands.

Harry's face was brightened by the orange glow coming from the fireplace, and he glanced over to Remus, who was sitting cross-legged, staring into the fire without moving. "Doing alright?" he asked. Remus nodded, breaking his gaze away from the fire.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"Of course," Harry answered, smiling. "This has been the best time I ever remember having." He stretched his arms out, curling his legs up under him. "You're nicer than my Aunt and Uncle," he said quietly as though ashamed to admit.

"I'm glad to hear it." Remus smiled back. "Harry, we don't have too long of a time to spend together, seeing as once they're fine, you're going back with them. So, I want you to really enjoy it." He drank of bit of his hot chocolate. "I'm still extending my offer to answer any questions about your parents while you're here."

Harry stared into the fire for a while, obviously chewing something over. Then, without turning, asked, "Did they love me?"

Remus was taken aback by the question. "Of course they loved you," he told Harry. "All of us did. Your parents, however... They were the ones who coddled over you every last minute."

Smiling, Harry leaned sideways into Remus, resting his head on Remus' arm. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I really wanted to know."

"Anything else?" Remus asked him, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"When did they meet? Were they friends for a long time?"

Remus grinned. "Well, they met at eleven, of course, in class, but they were not too fond of each other at first. They fought at times, but by the time we were out of school, they loved each other. They got married only a short while after school and then you were born."

"What about you?" Harry asked suddenly.

"What?" Remus glanced away from the fire at Harry and raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, didn't you ever get married? Or Peter? Or Sirius?"

"Only your parents did, Harry," Remus answered quietly. I think Sirius was having too much fun being single to marry, and Peter never showed much of an interest in having a wife."

"But didn't you?"

"Most people would never marry a werewolf," he answered, his voice more quiet than ever.

"But you're nice!" Harry said, moving his head to stare at him. "You're nice and you treat everyone the right way."

"That doesn't change the matter," Remus said, twisting the mug in his hands. "Let's change the subject, please."

Harry, however, did not seem interested in doing so. "I don't see why everyone hates werewolves."

"Harry, you have to understand this -" Remus turned towards him, staring at the ground rather than his face. "Werewolves are only know for being monsters that attack people."

"Why?" he asked.

Sighing, Remus explained, "Most werewolves - almost all of them - tend to be... on the wild side, you could say. They hate wizards and try to destroy all of them, biting them to turn them to their own side. Well, our own side. They don't even try to restrain themselves usually. My bite was planned."

"Really?" Harry's voice was almost quiet with astonishment.

"Yes. My own father was on bad terms with one of them. He got revenge, in the end, turning his son to something as bad as he was."

"You're not bad," Harry said in an angry voice, glaring at Remus. His voice was almost grown-up, as was the expression on his face. "You're not like that. You're - you're one in a million, then. That's something people should like. I mean, no one hates my Aunt and Uncle, but... they're dreadful," he said in a low voice as if they could hear him. "I want to stay with you forever."

"I wish," Remus replied in a surprisingly bitter voice. He wondered whether it was directed at the one in a million comment or Harry staying with him forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I still do not own the Harry Potter series, as you do not see my name on the author part of the books. Thanks for asking, though. I would not mind owning the series, however. Well, except for the having to write that much and please a billion people. I doubt I could do that.**_

**Monday**

Harry was experimentally waving his wand at random objects, whispering words under his breath, getting several scraps of parchment he placed in front of him to repair themselves, then rip apart again. Remus wondered as he watched whether Harry's talent at such an early age came from loving magic or from his own genes.

"Watch this!" Harry said, waving his wand once more and getting the parchment to turn several different colors in seconds. Remus smiled.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Make it rip part again," Harry answered sadly, waving his wand once more, stopping the colors. "But I thought it looked cool."

"I have to admit, most people never do that until they're at least thirteen." Harry grinned at Remus.

"Really? So we learn how to do this then?"

"Yes," he answered, glancing at the clock. He was making sure that he did not go anytime past five, which he knew was still six hours away, but Severus' face kept coming to mind, telling him off. He glanced at a bag next to Harry. "Don't tell me you managed to go through everything from Honeydukes already," he said, smiling slightly. Harry took out a chocolate frog and opened the box, glancing at the card inside before eating it.

"I don't have this one yet," he mused, sticking it next to his knee before answering Remus. "Of course I haven't. There's still another bag."

"You take after James, I know it," Remus told him, stretching out his legs and waving his own wand to turn the piece of parchment Harry had been practicing on into a small, cardboard box. Harry muttered several spells under his breath, waving his wand, but the box remained there. "James could go through the entire Hogwarts kitchens in less than a day, I bet. And his collection of chocolate frog cards was the size of London."

"How did you do that?" Harry asked, picking up the box. Remus smiled.

"Magic." With another wave of his wand, it turned into a piece of parchment again. "It's called transfiguration. You'll learn it, but you'll only start out with small differences in your first year."

"Will I see you again when I go to Hogwarts?" Harry was fiddling with the parchment between his hands, giving Remus a sad look.

"I hope so," he answered quietly, leaning with his back against the bottom of the chair behind him. "I doubt it, but... maybe during a break I could see you."

Harry looked down-cast and stared at the floor, sighing. "Well, I'm not going to the Dursleys during break, I know that. I'd rather stay here. You're tons better than them. And you actually tell me about my parents. They told me one lie about them and never spoke about them again."

"I'm not good company most of the time," Remus answered, closing his eyes. He could feel a dreadful headache coming on and he felt both cold and sickeningly warm as though he were going to be ill. It was taking most of his energy to keep up and to speak to Harry.

"Is this about being a werewolf again?" Harry asked. Remus could only guess at the expression of his face. "Because I don't care that you're a werewolf. You're he nicest person I've ever met. I don't want you to think I hate you because of that. I mean, you can't help it, can you?"

"Harry, I really don't feel up to arguing the point."

"Well, if you don't, you can just agree with me." Remus heard a sudden noise like the snapping of breaking wood and heard Harry say, "Well, it turns out I can transfigure something. Didn't mean to do that..."

Remus, without looking, waved his wand once more and the parchment returned in front of Harry.

"Thanks. Anyway, I still say -"

"There's no case to argue, Harry," Remus told him sternly. "It's my problem, not yours, and I've dealt with it for over twenty years. I know the limits."

He heard nothing in response and looked to see Harry with his head bowed over the parchment, half-heartedly waving his wand.

"I'm sorry," Remus said, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "I didn't mean to snap."

"You didn't snap," Harry said. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything," Remus told him, standing up. He reached for the arm of the chair, swaying slightly. His head spun and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. Staying still, he closed his eyes, then continued walking around to the kitchen. "Do you want anything?"

"No thanks," Harry muttered, picking up the parchment and dropping it, managing to freeze it before it hit the ground. "I'm fine."

Remus took a bottle from a cupboard and opened it, pouring some of the contents into his mug, moving the mug to swirl the two liquids together. He returned back to Harry.

"What is that?" Harry asked, glancing at Remus, who was drinking the tea and potion.

"It's a potion," Remus explained, glad that the tea hid the taste.

"Are potions made using magic like spells?"

"Not exactly," Remus told him, turning his mug in his hands, trying to heat them. "Some potions need a spell or two used on them, but mainly it's adding ingredients and so on. Rather like cooking in my opinion."

"Professor Snape would kill you if he heard that, wouldn't he?" Harry asked him, smirking slightly.

"I should think so." The potion managed to do what he wanted. His head no longer hurt as painfully as before and he felt his pulse slow down slightly. "He's always been more fond of potions than people, especially me."

For several more hours, Harry practiced spells, causing the parchment to do things that Remus would never have even thought about doing. Harry would ask Remus questions every few minutes, such as "What sorts of things did you four do to Snape?" and "What did my parents like to do together?"

Remus answered as best as he could with answers such as "There was that one time when Sirius cursed Snape to cause his tongue to be folded back for nearly a week. No one noticed until he was unable to answer in class," and "You're too young to know."

Harry's smile grew every time he heard something about his parents, and Remus felt overjoyed to tell Harry about every last second he remembered from when he was at Hogwarts. He had not spoken about those years for a long time, and Harry was the sort of person he felt he could deal well with. Harry wanted to know everything Remus had to say, no matter how small or unimportant.

A bit past four, they ate, Remus picking around his plate, Harry watching him closely.

"I'm fine," he answered before Harry even had the chance to inquire over his health.

"You're always going to answer that, aren't you?" Harry asked, shoveling pasta into his mouth faster than Remus would have imagined possible.

"I think so," Remus told him, twirling a strand around his fork and dropping it back down.

"When will I be back here?" Harry asked.

"I think I'll pick you up around Tuesday afternoon." Harry nodded. "However, Severus may get the chore of actually getting you. But you'll be back here soon, don't worry."

Harry frowned a the mention of Severus' name.

They finished eating without talking and Remus got Harry packed up to spend the night at Hogwarts. They Flooed there soon after, meeting Dumbledore there. He was petting Fawkes the phoenix with one hand and writing a quick note on parchment with the other.

"Good evening," he said to them before looking up. "I'm assuming you found no one else to take care of Harry?" When Remus shook his head, Dumbledore continued, "I'm almost pleased. It would be unsafe to leave Harry is some people's hands."

"'Bye, Remus," Harry told him, stuttering slightly on the name. Remus smiled. It was the first time Harry referred to him by his first name.

"Have a good night," he said to Harry, bending to hug him.

"Be safe, alright?" Harry told him as sternly as a child could manage. Remus smiled.

"I'll be fine. Don't do anything stupid, alright?" he ordered, matching Harry's tone. A grin appeared on the boy's face.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Remus said, turning to Dumbledore. He nodded.

"Hurry along. Severus gets impatient easily."

"What about his classes?"

"We have found a wonderful substitute. I managed to convince Severus that missing part of a day of work was not the end of the world and that this was much more important."

"Thank you," Remus said again, turning to the fireplace. "Spinner's End!"

"Take care, Remus," Dumbledore told him as he disappeared.

He appeared in a house that could not have belonged to Severus. Severus, as he knew him, had style and taste. The walls were covered in books and there was only a dim light in the center of the room. It was certainly dark enough to fit him, however.

From the shadows outside the line of light, Severus appeared, dressed not in robes, but dark trousers and an equally dark shirt. "You managed to be on time for once," Severus told him.

"I've noticed," Remus said stiffly. "Could I ask a question? Why did you move here?"

"That would be none of your business," he answered, frowning slightly. "However, one reason is that I find Hogwarts to be suitable for most of the year and find no use of a larger house."

"You certainly crowded the place with books," Remus muttered, glancing at them. Some were potions books, some Dark Arts books, several with no titles, and plenty of old books that had to have been passed down to him.

"I find reading to be a pleasure," he told Remus. Now -" He turned and took out his wand hitting a certain spot of books with a spell. Remus heard a faint thump and scrabbling sounds.

"What was that for?"

Severus did not answer, but went to the wall, pulling on a shelf, which opened into a wide door. "In," he said.

Remus entered the dark room, glancing around. He could see nothing but blackness.

"Keep going," Severus snapped, and Remus took several blind steps forward, making sure not to walk into anything. When he had gone as far as possible, there was a tapping sound and several lights appeared.

The room was dank and dull with grey walls and several candles placed around the walls. A small desk stood in the far corner with a quill and several rolls of parchment next to it. Severus sat down at the desk and waved his wand. A wooden chair appeared next to Remus, where he sat.

The fact that the room was freezing cold and smelled faintly of rot did not help Remus, He tried to breath through his mouth, feeling shivers run through him.

"First I need to take notes on your present condition," Severus told him. "That is the reason why you needed to come earlier than moon rise. Full name, that I know." He scribbled down something. "Age I know, too." He wrote down something quickly and glanced at Remus. "Height?"

"About six foot," he answered, still shaking from the cold air pressed around him.

"Weight?"

"What's the point in these questions?"

"It is to make sure you are not overdosed," Severus answered smoothly. "If you give me incorrect information, you may find yourself dead in the morning. Weight?"

"A bit over nine stone," he answered. Severus glanced at him, looking him up and down.

"You're underweight," he said smoothly, writing it down. "It's amazing that the Headmaster will actually let you care for a child when you appear unable to even care for yourself."

Remus remained silent.

"Any sort of illnesses at the moment? Other than the obvious?"

"No."

Severus questions him a bit more, checking if he was ill, making sure of the dosage and such. When he finished, he walked out Remus several times, glancing him over, making notes.

"Subject's skin is becoming paler as the full moon approaches." He handed Remus a vial like the one from the day before. "Drink this."

Remus did so, wincing as it burned at his mouth and nose once more. He handed back the vial, feeling even more ill after having drunk it.

"How do you feel?"

"Dreadful," Remus answered, gagging on the remains of the potion in his mouth. "That potion can't work. It's certainly making things worse right now."

Severus watched as the quill recorded what he said. "What about weakness or nausea?"

"A bit," Remus answered, starting to feel it.

"Where?"

Remus raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Well, my throat is burning and I feel like vomiting."

"Shit," Severus muttered under his breath, furrowing his brows and stopping his pacing.

"What?" Remus asked, worried.

Severus did not answer, but continued to look over Remus. "How bitter was the potion? Not bad tasting, but actual bitterness?"

"Very much so," Remus answered, rubbing his throat. It felt as though someone had jammed a burning poker down it. "Severus, I -"

"Shit, shit, shit," Severus muttered, rubbing around his mouth with one finger, looking almost worried.

"What?" Remus asked once more, eyes widening. The world was blurring slightly and he felt dizzy even when sitting. He grasped the edges of his chair and took in a deep breath.

"Can you see well?" Severus asked, his voice lined with concern. Now he was not bothering to hide the fact that he was worried.

"No," Remus answered, swallowing and hoping to stop the burning.

Severus unfolded his arms and grabbed Remus by the shoulders, forcing him up and forcing him back the way they had come from.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked, taking hold of one of Severus' arms to stop from tripping over himself.

"Taking you to St. Mungo's," Severus answered shortly, pointing his wand at the fireplace. "Can you Apparate? Side-Along, at least?"

"I think," Remus answered, his voice becoming slightly more slurred than it was before. He tightened his hold on Severus and found the room compressed around him, constricting him of breath. When they landed, however, he found that the still could not breath freely. He took in a deep breath, just managing it, and leaned more on Severus.

The walls were a plain white color and Remus found himself staring at them as Severus almost dragged him forward. He passed over the woman at the reception desk and marched straight to the stairs, forcing Remus to climb them. When he reached the third floor, grasping the werewolf by the waist, he stopped and glanced around.

"Do you see any Healers?"

Remus raised his arm, too tired to hold it long, but pointed at a witch in lime-green robes.

"Excuse me!" Severus snapped at her. She glanced up. Her straight, dirty blonde hair was pulled into a bun and she had a pale splattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose. When she saw that Remus was leaning entirely on Severus now, she jumped out of her chair and grabbed one of his arms.

"What happened?" she asked quickly, turning down a hall into a ward where they deposited Remus into a bed. She started to peel off his robes when Severus answered.

"Overdose of wolfsbane in a potion."

"Which potion? Who brewed it?" Her hands were reaching for several potions on the table and she glanced through them for a moment before picking one up and dumping some into a goblet. She held it to Remus' lips and he managed to get some into his mouth. It tasted almost as bad as the Wolfsbane Potion had, but he forced it into his constricted throat. It loosened a bit and he was able to start breathing.

"The Wolfsbane Potion. I brewed it."

"Are you a registered brewer?" she asked, then paused. "The Wolfsbane Potion? For werewolves? The one being tested?"

"That would be it," Severus answered, handing her a potion from the table before she could look again. "You need this one."

She glanced at the label and poured some into the goblet, forcing it between Remus' lips. He felt worse than he had ever felt in his life, even compared to the transformations. His eyes were blurring everything around him and his stomach was still threatening to empty itself. His chest was on fire even though his lungs were managing to work again.

"Can you speak?" she asked Remus, her green eyes widening in fright. She looked close to his age, though she had to be somewhat knew to have never seen wolfsbane poisoning. Remus guessed that it was a rare enough case, however, as most people never drank it.

He opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words would form.

"No?" She poured more of the second potion into the goblet and forced it into his mouth once more. This one tasted somewhat sweeter than the first and he tried to force it down his throat.

"Do you feel an chest pain? Nausea?"

"He does?" Severus answered for him. "Earlier, he said that."

"He'll be fine in less than an hour," she answered, breaking eye contact with Remus. "I would keep him for a few days to make sure nothing happens, but that wouldn't be possible." She bit her lip and frowned. "We're not used to having werewolves in on the day of the full moon. We'll keep him until he has to transform, at least. Who will he be with then?"

"Me," Severus answered, glancing at Remus closely as he had done before. He took the goblet out of the Healer's hands and tilted Remus' head back, forcing him to drink the potion quickly. When he choked on it, Severus pulled the goblet away from him.

"Bring him back in the morning. We can take care of him from there." The Healer took Remus by the shoulders and gently held him upright. "This should control the blood flow to his head," she explained to Severus. "How did you managed to overdose him? It takes plenty of wolfsbane in a potion to affect a person."

"I had no clue of the weight and potion ratio," he told her with a touch of anger in his voice. He directed his next comment to Remus. "This is what I warned you about. You have to tell me your proper weight and height."

"I did," Remus gasped, amazed at how hoarse and faint his voice sounded. "When you asked... not the first night... should have... said earlier..." He breathed as deeply as his lungs would allow, ashamed that such a simple task was robbing him of all of his energy.

The Healer gave him a stern look. "You should have known better."

"Blame Damocles." Severus glanced at Remus. "I had the basic idea of your size. You're only about three inches taller than me and I could tell you're underweight from looking at you."

The woman stopped trying to keep track of the conversation and had placed several pillows behind Remus, keeping him upright. She hurried away while they spoke and came back with several more potion bottles. Remus groaned.

Pouring them all into the goblet, she swirled it around and forced him to drink. It was rather sour but it went down better than the Wolfsbane Potion had.

"If you try these potions anymore," she told Severus, "make sure a Healer is around who came attend to the subject before they're poisoned. Drink. No, no stopping. Just drink it all quickly."

Remus tried to force it down but he was still doing his best to stop from vomiting. He knew that the transformation on top of everything would make it a horrible night.

"Where you ill yesterday after drinking the potion?" Severus asked, looking slightly impatient and standing off to the side.

Remus shrugged and nodded, trying not to break lip contact with the goblet that the Healer was holding still.

"Damn," Severus muttered angrily. "And you never told me?"

Remus furrowed his brow and was going to answer, but the Healer interrupted. "No talking. Finish drinking it and then you go back with him, then you're coming back in the morning."

Taking a last gulp, Remus felt the goblet taken off his lips and a hand on his forehead.

"Warmer. Good. He was freezing cold when he got in here." She glanced into his eyes, opening them with her fingers. "Pupils closer to normal, but not quite. It'll have to do for now." She turned to Severus. "First thing. Bring him to Danielle Truman. That's me," she added unnecessarily.

"Danielle?" Remus croaked, rubbing his throat more, glad that he could finally breathe. "Did you know Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yes," she said quietly, staring at the ground. "I used to date him." She gave him a curious look. "Why? You didn't kn- You're Remus Lupin, aren't you?" she asked, smiling. He nodded, feeling his throat give up. "Nice to see you again," she said, putting out a hand that he shook. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

Severus grabbed Remus rather harshly, pulling him off of the bed. As they walked away, Remus heard Danielle muse, "I never knew he was a werewolf..."

"You know her?" Severus asked as they walked back down the stairs. Remus was able to stand on his own again, but Severus still had him by the arm as a precaution.

"She was in our year," Remus retorted, clearing his throat. "I knew that potion was too disgusting to work," he muttered. Severus shot him a dirty look.

"Be glad I brought you here rather than letting you die."

Remus refrained from saying that if he died, it would have been Severus' fault and he would be in Azkaban. Instead he said, "No personal attack. Just an acknowledgement."

Once they reached the bottom level, Remus found himself unable to breath once more, and was about to tell Severus, when he saw that they were Apparating. They landed again in the dark street outside Severus' house. Remus had not been able to see the outside when he first went there, but now saw that it was plain and old outside, much like inside. They entered, Severus shooting a red beam from his wand at the hidden door once more and entering.

The pulls of the transformation were already starting to get to Remus and he bit his lip to keep from feeling it. Severus was in the corner, waving his wand and muttering spells. Remus glanced over and saw that a large cage had appeared, solid and metal with an open door.

"How long do you have?" Severus asked, glancing at Remus, wand still out.

"I would say about five minutes," he answered, breathing shallowly and trying to control his thoughts.

"In," Severus ordered.

Sealing the door after Remus, Severus conjured a lock and placed it on, walking back to his desk and glancing at the notes on it. "Are you going to get undressed?" he asked lazily, turning his back on Remus to give him some privacy. He heard the sounds of material moving and slid through the thin space between bars.

Several minutes passed in which Severus tried not to look at Remus, afraid that he would already be seeing the monster he turned into. He had seen enough of it at the age of sixteen, and had no interest in seeing it again. It was only because of that damned Damocles that he was doing this.

Finally, he heard the sounds of Remus' breathing grow louder and bones cracking. Still forcing himself not to look, Severus tried his best to block out the sounds, but the sounds still came.

After several minutes, the sounds stopped and Severus turned to see a wolf there, laying innocently on the ground. It was larger than a normal wolf, and the snout was longer than normal. Brown fur covered its body, and its eyes were a strange blend of gold and blue. He supposed that within minutes, they would be all gold, and found himself right.

Severus took in a shaky breath, willing himself to walk forward. Once he did, however, the wolf was up and snarling at him.

"Lupin!" he scolded, taking a step back. The wolf paused, snout still wrinkled in a snarl, though that fell away, too. Soon, the wolf was merely sitting there, giving Severus a curious look.

Taking another step forward, Severus watched warily as the wolf got up and stepped back. When he was up against the cage, close enough to reach through the touch the wolf, the werewolf jumped forward, snarling. Severus jumped backwards, took Remus' clothes from the ground, and walked back to his desk.

He picked up the quill and dipped it in ink, writing a hurried note.

'_Subject, in transformed state, shows signs of memory, though still is territorial.'_

He spent a few hours trying several approaches with the wolf, calling him by his full name, getting close to the bars, making loud noises, and testing to see if he still fit under the category of the average werewolf during the full moon.

After doing so, Severus reached the last test. It was the one Damocles told him to avoid doing if possible, but Remus was on borderline of having the potion work and not. He slipped his sleeve up to his elbow, taking a thin knife in his left hand, making a thin cut, just enough for blood to drip down his arm. Walking close to the cage, he reached his arm out, close enough to smell and see, but far enough that if the wolf saw, he would not be able to bite Severus.

Ears perking up, the wolf stared Severus down with his gold eyes.

Hating himself for doing it, not for Remus' sake, but his own, he reached his arm through the bar as best he could. The wolf, on the other side, sat up, staring him down. Then, so suddenly that Severus almost stopped to make sure of it, the wolf jumped forward, snarling, trying to reach Severus. His elbow caught in the bars, and he pulled hard just as the wolf jumped onto his arm.

"Shit!" he yelled, pulling his arm close to his face, peering at it. The elbow was red and raw from where the bars slid around it, and below that area were long scratches from his elbow to his wrist. They were all bleeding, and the wolf was staring at him once more, having smelled the blood.

"Damn you," Severus muttered under his breath, taking out his wand and tapping his arm. Only the cut he did himself healed. Cursing more, he rubbed the blood off with his robes and made another note on the parchment.

Several hours passed before Severus heard another sound from the wolf other than snarling. He had taken to rubbing his arm with a cream, trying his best to heal it. There would always be scars on there, he knew, but fading them would help. Dittany had been rubbed in, which he knew would help a bit.

There was a repeat of the sound of bones cracking and Severus waited until the sounds faded away to look up.

Remus was lying inside the cage, looking ragged, but at least there was not much blood. One of his arms had been bitten up somewhat badly, Severus noted, and he tapped the lock, causing it to fall off. He entered slowly, glancing down at the body on the floor.

"Lupin?" he asked, raising his voice. When he got no answer, he used his foot to flip Remus onto his back, checking him over. The only damage that could leaving scarring would be his arm, he noted, and walked back to the desk, scribbling down notes before returning.

"Lupin, wake up," he said, bending down to get on an equal level with him. He used his fingers to open one of his eyes and glanced at him. They were still gold, he saw, though the blue color was returning to them.

"Off," came a faint voice, and Remus tried to get Severus' hand off his face, but Severus managed to grab Remus by the shoulders, picking up his torso. "Se-?"

"Don't talk yet," Severus told him, taking a firmer hold on him and almost picking up the werewolf. Remus used his feet to kick up and Severus was left, holding Remus up almost entirely.

"I'll have to take you to St. Mungo's," Severus muttered in his ear, "That Danielle girl you're so fond of wants you there."

"I'm not fond of her," came the tired reply. "I just know her from years ago."

Severus heard how weak Remus' voice was and doubled his grip on him as he led the man to the desk. "Get dressed."

Remus slipped into his trousers and shirt, trying to keep upright. Severus frowned.

"You lost weight," he said, concern riding on his voice.

"Always happens after the full moon," Remus answered somewhat sourly, roughly pulling his cloak over his arms. He leaned on the table for a second and Severus took his arm tightly, about to Apparate.

"Give me a second," Remus snapped, giving Severus a cold look and leaning on the desk for support more heavily. He rubbed his arm and pulled back, seeing his hand coated in blood. "I'll suppose the potion failed?" he asked, checking his arm.

"It worked somewhat well. That happened minutes ago. I think the dosage should be upped, and the wolfsbane should be toned down, and then it'll work out." He looked into Remus' face, making sure there were no other injuries. His eyes were lined with dark shadows and heavy-lidded through exhaustion. His cheekbones were sharp against his skin, and several scratches ran down his neck, but there seemed to be no other damage. "Put some dittany on it," Severus said, reaching out for the softened bark. Remus placed a bit of it on the cut, using his robes to wipe up the blood.

"Not as bad as usual," he muttered, keeping a hand on the wound.

"What's usual?" Severus asked, not sure whether he wanted to know the answer. Remus glanced up at him, eyes bright compared to his deathly pale skin. Severus shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go now. She'll be expecting us."

He took Remus around the waist with one hand, grabbing his shoulder with the other, when Remus stopped. "What happened to your arm?" he asked, voice low.

Severus glanced at the scars running down it, still red and inflamed. "I was testing to see if the potion worked. It's only a scratch."

"Damn!" Remus hissed, taking Severus' arm, leaning slightly as he lost part of support. "Werewolf-induced injuries don't heal, I hope you know." He examined the arm closely. "Damn, Severus. At least they're shallow. And at least it wasn't a bite."

Severus took Remus around the waist once more and felt his weak grip on his arm as they Apparated out.

**_Bit longer than I meant to write. Whoops. Hope you like that._**

**_Sorry for the sudden change in point of view to Severus'. I just thought that it would be boring to have that all from Remus' point of view, seeing as he's a wolf, you know? Sorry again._**

**_Thank you to every reviewer! Wow! I've never had eighteen reviews on any one story! Thank you to all of you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all! Thank you!_**

**_To Fanfictionfeak: I hope you had a good vacation. ;)_**

**_Mikee: Oh, thank you for that idea. I had forgotten about that. Neville shall be very fun. Muaha._**

**_Scribhneoir: I love that name! Anyway, I'm glad you liked that line. I was trying to figure out something to stick in for that part, and it just fit so well._**

**_Animeluver8: Harry will find out the truth sooner or later, don't worry. I have to say, Harry asking that question depressed me, too. It's fine to go up to your parents after being grounded and saying, "You still love me, right?" But for Harry to have to go through that..._**

**_A Teenage Werewolf: You're stories under my name. :) Have fun._**

**_Nagini Crimson and The Dragon Bard: I feel stupid. laughs I'm afraid I misread that part when I was going through for spells. Thanks!_**

**_To everyone else: You all got what you wanted: another chapter. :)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series or affiliates. Phft. If I did, the books would be, like, different. I'd have all my ships and stuff. Granted, one of them is true out of the two. If I could just get Snape and the Giant Squid together...**_

**Tuesday**

Remus felt them land once more in the white room. He opened his eyes, glancing around at the reception desk and the witch behind it, who was reading a magazine and tapping her fingers on the desk. She glanced up as Severus brought Remus past, still holding him up by the waist.

"Do you know the floor?" she asked, eyes traveling over Remus cautiously. She looked rather bored, but wary of his appearance. Remus could only imagine what he must have looked like.

"Yes," Severus answered sourly, pausing. "I'm meeting Danielle Truman." She nodded and pointed at the stairs. Severus grabbed the side of Remus' thin waist with more force than needed, surely cracking a rib. Wincing, Remus followed, trying to keep his feet straight. He stumbled on the steps, breathing deeply. The transformation on top of being poisoned was starting to make him feel faintly ill, and his eyes were closing against his will. Usually, he managed to sleep for a few hours before having to get up and do something.

Severus seemed to notice him sliding onto him, leaning more and more of his weight on the shorter man, and he doubled his grip, gently pulling Remus up.

"One more floor," he muttered, glancing at the signs. "I always thought there was something wrong with the design of this place. The more serious cases always end up on the top floors, and most die before they reach it."

Against his will, Remus let himself smile a bit. They reached the last step and found Danielle bending over a new patient. The person seemed to be a man with a green-tinged rash around his head. Danielle was rubbing a blue cream onto her hands and massaging it into his face, sighing.

"Really, John, handling these plants is not a good idea, no matter what your sister tells you." Without turning, she added, "Hello, Remus, Severus."

"Glad to see you can identify your patients," Severus told her sourly, dragging Remus into the nearest bed and pushing him on.

"I'll be done in a moment," Danielle snapped, pulling her hands away from John an pausing. "I think you should wait an hour or so before putting anything else on," she told him quietly. "Might react with this." She walked over to the water spout and washed the cream off her hands, wiping them dry on a towel.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked Remus, peering into his eyes again. "Good. Eyes are no longer pin-point." She grabbed his shoulders, stopping his slight swaying. "You've lost weight, haven't you?"

"I've been told so," Remus snapped sourly, annoyed at the sudden reaction to his dietary needs. He regretted this soon after, however, when he felt bile rise into his throat.

"What happened? Poisoning?" asked John in a muffled voice. He had covered his face with a wet towel and rubbing.

"Nothing you care about!" snapped Danielle. "And don't take that off!" John took the towel off his face and made a face behind her back before continuing to wipe off the cream. "Are you alright?" she asked Remus gently, turning back to him, obviously noticing his attempts to not vomit.

Severus was watching them from near the wall, distain clear in his eyes.

"I just went through a transformation," Remus sighed. "How do you think I feel?"

"Other than that, any nausea? Weakness that usually doesn't come from the full moon?" Severus was watching John know, who was staring with Remus, an odd expression on his face.

"Only a bit," Remus answered, breaking eye contact with her, rubbing his tired eyes. They felt dry and burning and he would have given anything to sleep right there. "I haven't gotten to sleep, though, so that may explain most of it. I usually get some time to sleep before anything else." He gave Severus a sour look.

When she glanced at Severus he said to her, "You said bring him first thing in the morning."

She nodded and retorted, "Just make sure he sleeps for a while afterwards."

"Tell him that. He can take care of himself."

Danielle gave him a stern look for talking back and turned to Remus. "Just get some rest and make sure you eat once you're home. Alright?" She grabbed his left arm, glancing at the bloody wound. Remus saw that it was still raw, but the bleeding was almost finished. She made a disapproving noise and glanced through the potions on the table once more, taking a pale yellow cream and smearing a bit down his arm.

"How did the potion work?" she asked the two men. Severus answered.

"Except for the overdose of wolfsbane, it is almost perfect. Just a higher dosage of the potion and he could last the night unharmed."

"I'm glad to hear it," she said, wrapping a linen around his arm and looking Remus in the face. "It won't heal completely, as you know, but this should treat the scarring. It's dittany, like I can tell you put on before, but this has several more ingredients to make it work a bit faster." Severus picked up the jar she had scooped it out of and glanced at the label, reading it quickly before placing it down.

"Where do you get this?" he asked.

"It's made here, special," Danielle answered. "We have a large stock and it's not used often on this floor. Feel free to take that one." She pointed at an unopened jar, which Severus picked up, still frowning at it. "Rather recent. It turns out dittany works well with other components."

Danielle turned back to Remus and told him, "If you need any help at all caring for Harry, just ask, alright? I can help you." When he gave her a curious look, she said, "I heard from John over there. He had been reading the _Prophet_. Today I have off, really, Joanna's supposed to be here any minute. I just needed to take the morning for her." There was the sound of feet marching up the stairs. "See?" Danielle turned in time to see a short, blonde woman with a disgruntled look on her face.

"I went to see my brother," she spat out, walking over to Danielle and dumping a bag on the chair. "He said he had gotten a bite off a dragon, and I got worried, when it turned out that it was only a niffler!" She looked at Remus then to John. "Patients?"

"He's leaving soon," Danielle told her, pointing to Remus, "and John doesn't seem to want anything, so I think he better run off soon."

"I'm in pain," John moaned, looking sad.

"Should have thought about that before," Danielle told him, putting an arm around Remus' shoulders and helping him to his feet. His stomach was churning horribly and he was glad to be leaving. "So, will you be needing any help, Remus?"

Glancing at Severus and then to Danielle, he answered, "Sure. I'm not sure I'm in any condition to watch him today."

Severus raised an eyebrow at them. "I suppose I'll not be needed, then?"

"Could you ask Professor Dumbledore to Floo Harry along?" Remus asked. Severus nodded curtly and vanished down the stairs. Danielle grabbed a red leather bag and slung it over her shoulder, helping Remus down the stairs. Her grip was softer than Severus', but she did not offer much support. He leaned on the railing along the stairs, mainly, and was relieved to reach the bottom, where motioned him towards the fireplace.

"Go ahead. I'll get the address from you and be right there."

"Eighteen Miasma Lane," Remus said as loudly as he could manage into the fire, dumping the handful of powder. He felt himself spin and wanted to vomit violently, but when he landed, he fell into a chair, leaning on it for more support and coughing, ash in his mouth.

A moment later, Danielle came out of the fire, glancing around and seeing Remus before taking his arm again. "I'm sorry," she said, brow furrowed in concern. "I wasn't sure if you could make the landing. Sorry. Do you want to go to sleep?"

"I think so," Remus said, feeling rather embarrassed at having Danielle there right after the full moon. He managed to get out of her grasp and made his way down the hall, using the wall to keep upright. His muscles were screaming in agony and he wanted to sleep for hours and not get up.

"I'll explain everything to Harry," she said.

He nodded and opened his door, then deposited himself in the bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes. He managed to slide his shoes off and pull the covers to his head, though he tried to do so with as little movement as possible.

It had been a long time since he spoke to Danielle, he noticed. Last time he saw her was at the memorial service for Peter, which had been years ago. He remembered her as the stubborn Hufflepuff who obsessed over classes and Gobstones in equal amounts. She did not seem to have changed much, either way.

Harry dropped out of the fireplace, Dumbledore coming in behind him. The old wizard looked around for a moment to find the woman cooking, glancing at a book next to her as she added ingredients.

"Ms. Truman?" he asked. She glanced up and clapped a hand to her chest, letting out a breath.

"You scared me," she said. "Yes sir. I promised Remus I would look after Harry for him for some of the day."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm glad he managed to fid someone. I doubt he would have liked Severus' company." Danielle smiled. "I'll be leaving Harry, then. Have a good day."

"You, too." Danielle waited until Dumbledore had left again, and smiled at Harry.

"Hello. I'll take it you're Harry Potter." He nodded, standing still in one spot. "I'm Danielle. Remus is in his room, but I think he would prefer to sleep off the transformation for a while."

"How is he?" Harry asked, sitting down far from Danielle and looking rather shyly at her. He still had no clue as to who she was or how Remus knew her, but Remus had said that the Fidelius Charm would do all the protecting they would need.

"I think he's doing alright," she answered, furrowing her brow at a page in the book and waving her wand to make a fine stream of cheese come from the tip. She gave the pan a critical look. "It's done," she told Harry. "Do you like cottage pie?"

"I've never tried it," Harry answered. The Dursleys usually only made it when company came over or on special nights, though Harry was never allowed to eat it.

"Well, I hope it's good," Danielle muttered, picking up the pan and placing it on the table. "Do you want to bring Remus a plate?"

"Sure," Harry answered, waiting until she cut it, then taking the plate down into the hall. He could smell potatoes and meat from the dish. Knocking on the door, Harry waited for an answer, but none came. He walked in, glancing at the bed where Remus was.

Placing the plate down on a small table beside Remus' bed, he turned to shake him awake, but paused. The older man's face was paler than Harry had ever seen it and, even asleep, he looked tired. Shadows lined his face, mainly under his eyes. Scars lined his throat, still looking raw. Harry saw that there was a trace of blood on his arm under wrappings, and felt his lungs freeze.

"Remus?" he asked quietly, almost not wanting to wake him. "Remus?" He gently shook him, but got no answer. Stalking back to the door, Harry glanced at him once more before leaving.

"I think he's tired," Harry told Danielle as he sat down. He took his usual seat at the table and saw that Danielle was sitting where Remus usually sat. She had set out a plate for him, and Harry tried the pie, making a satisfied sound as he swallowed. "It's good," he told her.

She smiled. "Good. I'm glad you like it. I supposed Remus would be tired, after all of that. He had a dreadful night, by the sounds of it."

"What happened?" Harry asked. Danielle glanced up at him, frowning.

"Well, you know that they were testing the potion, right? Severus, that man who was wearing black, overdosed it with wolfsbane. Have you ever heard of wolfsbane? It's a poison."

"Is he going to die?" Harry asked quickly. His thoughts rushed to Remus as he had just seen him, and there was a drop in his stomach as the horrible truth settled in.

"No, no, no," Danielle answered, though she looked grave. "He'll be fine. He's just a bit... under the weather. You'll have Remus back as he was before in a few days."

"He's the best thing I could have asked for next to a family," Harry mumbled to his plate, relief sweeping over him as he privately rejoiced that Remus would be alive and well.

"I can understand that," Danielle said, picking out a bit of carrot and eating it. "He's very nice. I knew him at school. Not well, but we knew each other."

"Really?" Harry asked, looking happy. He remembered the conversation he and Remus had had the day before. "What do you think of werewolves?"

Danielle furrowed her brow and pursed her lips, thinking. She swept a lock of dark blonde hair out of her plump face. "Well, I can't say I have anything against them or for them... Like everyone else in the Wizarding World, grew up thinking them to be monsters... However, after meeting Remus, I have to say, maybe they're not as bad as I thought. However, not all of them areas nice as him..."

Harry cast his eyes down at the table. "He was telling me that everyone hated werewolves and that's why most people didn't like him," Harry told her. Danielle shrugged.

"We should always try to look at people as people, not as groups, but most of us can't do that." She smiled at him, revealing a set of somewhat sharpened teeth. "You're very good doing that, Harry, which is a skill we all ought to learn."

Harry felt himself blush a little and remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"So, when did you meet Remus?" he asked after a while, finishing off his slice of pie. Danielle gave him another slice as soon as he set his fork down and he started again.

"Well, I was in his year and dated his best friend, so we came to know each other fast. First year was the first time we met, though. He and Peter were playing Gobstones and that's my one weakness." She gave him a wink and grinned. "Have you ever played Gobstones?"

"No," he answered, feeling rather foolish.

"It's like Muggle Marbles, but the marbles can shoot ink at you. Pain to get out of clothes, I'll say that much."

Harry smiled slightly. "That sounds weird."

"Most Wizarding games are," she answered. She reached down onto the floor and pulled up a red handbag, which she dug through for a moment before pulling out a smaller, brown bag and opening it. She spilled the objects inside on the table, where they rolled for a moment before connecting together into a larger circle. "Gobstones," she explained, picking one up and handing it to Harry.

"They look like normal marbles," he said, squinting at them. With a closer look, he saw that, although the patterns on them were the same, inside the largest one was a circle of black ink. He placed it down again. "What other Wizarding games are there?"

"Wizard's chess," Danielle started. "Quidditch, tons of games on brooms, really, Exploding Snap, dueling, though I don't suggest that... There are tons, though those are the best known. Then, there are the prank items. I don't know much about those. You'll have to ask Remus. He ought to know just about everything there is about those."

She stood up and picked up their empty plates, bringing them over to the sink and starting to wash them by hand. "So, what do you think of the Wizarding World so far?" she asked him.

"It's amazing," Harry breathed, remaining at the table. Danielle finished washing the two plates and let them dry while wiping her hands. "I mean, everything's so different..."

"It is," she agreed. "I knew I was a witch when I was little, but my parents seemed to enjoy the Muggle life, so I almost forgot I was a witch when I turned eleven." She laughed and turned towards the hall. "I'm going to check up on Remus. I think his arm should have healed by now." She left, leaving Harry all alone.

Now that Danielle was there, Harry felt as if he had a family again. Remus was most definitely a father-figure to him, and Danielle seemed to know nearly as much as Remus did about his parents. Smiling to himself, Harry leaned back in his chair and waited until Danielle returned, a bloodied stretch of cloth in her hands. She held it in the air and waved her wand at it, causing it to disappear before sitting next to Harry.

"How is he?" Harry asked.

"Fine," she answered, sighing. "His arm's going to scar, I know that, though I think it's gone down enough to not be too noticeable. He'll just be sleeping off the rest for a while, I think. Says he's fine." Danielle inspected her hands for a moment and said, "I never had a clue he was a werewolf. I never spent too much time with him, so that may be why, and I never learned much about werewolves except for..." She trailed off, staring even more intently at her short nails. "Well, I never knew that transformations did that. And I suppose that was one of the better ones."

Harry remained silent. He had been thinking about what Remus had said about views on werewolves and about how it was less fair than he imagined. Having to think about Remus going through that every month and being hated for it was too much to bear, so he pulled a napkin closer to him, taking out his wand, and waving it while muttering randomized spells, forcing the paper to rip apart and repair itself, levitate into the air and hover around.

"You can do magic already?" Danielle asked, frowning and watching the napkin's progress. Harry glanced into her blue eyes.

"Yeah. I got to learn some spells early." He knew that he sounded too prideful for his own good, but he felt that being able to do magic was something that few people could do. Dudley would never share the same talent.

"That's interesting," Danielle said, smiling slightly.

_**First, a quick note: I'm supposing that, with the Fidelius Charm, the owner of the house can say the address, too. However, I don't think Remus realized that he did that...**_

_**Second, let me say that I am the happiest person in the world right now! I've never gotten many reviews (over eleven, at least) and now I have twenty-five! Those twenty-five reviews have made my month. I've never gotten so many favorites, either! Let me summarize it for you:**_

_**Reviews: 25**_

_**Hits: 2940**_

_**C2s: 8**_

_**Favs: 6**_

_**Alerts: 25**_

_**Favorite Author of 13**_

_**Author Alert List of 25**_

_**(And, for fun, I have written more than the total length of the second Harry Potter book on all of my fan fictions so far! Fear me!)**_

_**So, let me thank everyone who has reviewed, favorite-d, or anything else! I love you all so much! Thank you! Thank you! You all make me one happy monkey!**_

_**A Teenage Werewolf: What I had meant by that was I had finished your story and that it was listed already. I'm glad you like the story. And, by the way, THANK YOU! I have to say, I wouldn't mind getting Remus' books... Harry can just lend them to us, how's that? Tehe.**_

_**Mikee: You have to be one of my favorite reviewers! I love your reviews. You give me so much insight and an honest opinion. THANK YOU!**_

_**Rosiegirl: THANK YOU for being there from the beginning of the story. I'm glad you liked the POV change. I wasn't sure whether it would work out.**_

_**Animeluver: THANK YOU for the reviews, and THANK YOU for making my day with that Ollivander impression. I agree with you though, Snape deserves what he got. Muaha.**_

_**Scribhneoir: So that's what your name means. It's beautiful sounding. I've been walking around saying it randomly and getting weird looks because it's that great of a name. :) Harry is such a strong-willed child. It's almost amazing. So that's what the Dursleys do to kids... THANK YOU for those wonderful reviews. **_


	9. Chapter 9

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter or any other affiliates. I own Danielle, though, and that makes me happy enough. Yeah. And for the people who wonder why I made her Peter's ex-girlfriend, go read my other story, A Squirt in the Face, which explains a bit behind that.**_

**Tuesday**

Remus woke late in the afternoon, bones creaking and muscles sore, but still intact. He glanced at his arm, which he remembered being patched up sometime hours ago. There were the scars of bite marks and scratches along it, which he had grown used to seeing around his body, and he was forcibly reminded of the scars he caused down Severus' arm. He felt a wave of guilt for having attacked him, though he knew that Severus was at fault.

He sat up, bending forward and hearing his spine crack. A sudden voice from the doorway alerted him. "That's not going to do you much good." He glanced over to see Danielle standing there, still wearing her lime-green robes, though she had taken her hair from its bun and let it lie lank around her face. She stepped forward and sat on the bed next to him. "Cracking bones only lets out gases. Sometimes it pushes them out of place." She ran her hands up and down his back, fingers working on his muscles. Remus remained there, stock-still, trying not to show any emotion. He still identified her as Peter's girlfriend, the pushy and stubborn girl who was the luckier one in their relationship.

"Harry's learning how to play Gobstones," she said, grinning slightly. Remus made a soft sound of consent, still too groggy to think properly. He stood up suddenly, Danielle rising a second later.

"Are you doing well?" she asked him, walking a step behind him as he walked out the door. He was starting to wish she wouldn't. It was enough to imagine how Harry was going to act when he saw him.

"I'm fine," Remus muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you for cooking, Danielle."

"You're welcome," Danielle responded quietly.

Remus reached where Harry was examining the Gobstones and watching him flick them across the room into what appeared to be a circle made with a quick charm that created a blue line around the game. "Harry, you're aiming for that one," Danielle told him, smiling and pointing at a marble. Harry's tongue was between his teeth, and he was trying his best to aim with one eye open. When he flicked his thumb, the marble hit another one, hitting it out of the circle. He picked it up, putting it into a small pile beside him.

Pausing from his game, Harry looked over at Remus, looking him over as he sat down. Danielle hovered awkwardly over Remus' shoulder. "Are -?" Harry started.

Remus interrupted, "I'm perfectly fine, Harry."

"Well, I just heard about you being poisoned -" Harry started, still giving Remus a doubtful look.

Glancing at Danielle, Remus asked, "You told him?"

She gave him a strange look; it looked as though she was pleading with her eyes for permission to answer truthfully, and at the same time pleading with her eyes not to break eye contact. "Of course I did. He should know."

Remus furrowed his brow, not saying anything. "Well, it tends to have long term effects!" Danielle retorted, voice going a pitch higher as she tried to defend herself, "I doubt want him to have to find you dead one day because of it!"

Not answering, Remus gave her a long stare. Harry was watching them, mouth hanging open in shock, and Danielle had gone pale.

"I'm sorry," she said, voice in a shrill whisper, hands clamped to her mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! It's just..." She lowered her hands, staring at the floor. "I don't want anyone to have to go through that. Since Peter died, I've worried about something like that happening..." She broke off, swallowing loudly.

Harry was still staring at them, his eyes wide, but it was Remus who answered. "Don't worry. No one's going to die anytime soon..." Danielle had tears streaming from her eyes and took in a shaky breath, whimpering quietly. Remus pulled on her arm, and she circled the chair, sitting down next to him. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and patted her back awkwardly, glancing at Harry, who was still watching them.

"I think Remus is fine," Harry said suddenly, staring at Danielle. She looked up, eyes reddened with tears. "He won't die soon, I'm sure of it. Right?" he asked Remus.

"Of course not," he answered, smiling. "I'm over the wolfsbane. I'm perfectly fine now."

Giving him a watery smile, Danielle told them, "Good. Because I don't want to have to find either of you in St. Mungo's ever again." Turning to Harry, she said, "And if anything happens with him, you know the name of the place to Floo to. Or you can just pop right into my house."

Harry stood up and sat on Remus' other side, and there was a sudden warmth around him. Harry felt he knew what, for a moment, having a family felt like. It was a warm feeling, deep in his stomach, comforting him. He moved into Remus, feeling the older man wrap his arms around his shoulders.

"By the way," Harry said to Remus, closing his eyes, "Danielle says she doesn't have anything against most werewolves."

Flushing, Danielle said, "Well, it's true. Not all werewolves, still, but..." She cleared her throat. "If I had anything against you, I wouldn't be here."

Remus smiled and said to Harry, "Well, you found one exception. I'm still holding my basis that most people hate werewolves."

Harry frowned. "Most people don't make a difference. Most of those people are probably like the Dursleys, anyway." His last sentence ended muffled as he leaned into Remus, mouth against his chest, breathing deeply. "Am I going to stay here forever with you two?" The question had come out before he managed to stop himself, but it had been grating on his nerves for so long.

He heard a faint laughing and Danielle answer, "I'm not going to be here forever. I'm just doing Remus a fa-" Her voice broke off into silence and Remus' voice sounded.

"We're here for as long as you need, Harry. Though, no one can promise forever. But we're here for as long as you need."

Harry drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

"What was that about?" Danielle asked as Remus glanced at Harry.

"Is he asleep?" he asked no one in general.

Danielle glanced at Harry's closed eyes. "Should be. By the sounds of it, he spent half of the night up, worrying about you." She stood up, moving to the opposite chair, facing him, her hands clenched on the arms of the chair, staring him straight in the eye. "What do you mean about that?"

Remus sighed and ran a hand through Harry's head, pulling his hand out once he reached tangles. "Harry hasn't had a proper family in years, you know. He hasn't been happy for that long, either. Can we pretend for a while, at least, to get along?"

"We do get along," Danielle answered, leaning forward. "I would say we're friends."

"We haven't seen each other in years," Remus told her, glancing at Harry.

"But we're talking together like civilized beings, am I correct? We can count that as friendship."

"I think you're taking my side." Remus smiled at her as he spoke. "Will you agree to it? Just for a while, at least. I think he would feel better."

"So I'm playing the mother, and you're the father?" Danielle asked. Remus opened his mouth, but she spoke over him. "I think it's dreadful to fake a family for him."

"I would never think of replacing Lily and James," Remus answered, voice harsh as he stared at her incredulously. "I was just thinking that Harry needs mentors."

"That I can do," she answered, pulling at the belt around her waist. "I'm going to head home to at least change out of these robes. Should I come back and act as his mentor?" she asked him, giving him a sarcastic look at the end of her sentence.

"If you want," he answered.

Danielle considered him for a moment. "How about you two come to my place," she said, turning to the door. "I'm sure I have something to entertain him with while we talk."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked. "I'm not -"

"I know you're not good company on these days," she snapped, picking up her bag. "Harry said that you told him that. Just come. If you're bad company like you say, I'll just get rid of you."

Remus slid out from under Harry and picked up the boy, amazed at how easy he was to lift. He followed Danielle out the door, barely managing to pull out his wand and tap the door to lock it with his arms full.

Danielle waited for him on the sunny garden. "I live in London," she told him. Telling him the complete address, she soon Disapparated. Remus gripped Harry tightly, remembering his Side-Along Apparations with Severus, and then followed.

When he felt his feet on the ground, Harry awoke, wide awake, eyes wide. "Where am I?" he asked, calming down when he saw that Remus was holding him, cradling him close to him like a baby.

"Danielle's house," Remus answered quietly. "Feel free to go back to sleep."

Her house was on the outskirts of London. It was a small house with a welcoming air. The sun streamed into the rooms, brightening the light colors. Remus, still carrying Harry, turned to Danielle who said, before he asked, "You can put him in the bedroom. Right over there."

Remus walked to the bedroom, seeing a light blue bed spread and setting Harry on top, carefully pulling off his shoes. Harry still did not wake. A collection of stuffed animals lined a shelf on the wall, which Remus would have expected of a young girl rather than Danielle. On the other shelf, high up, was a series of trophies, mainly from random wizard games. He retreated from the room back to where Danielle was boiling water. She had set out two mugs and motioned for Remus to sit down. He sat on one of the red chairs, feeling strangely comfortable. He could see why Peter liked spending so much of the summers at her house after they left school. Everything had an air of love and care, inviting everyone in.

"How long is Harry going to be with you?"

"Most likely for another two weeks. I don't know how his Aunt and Uncle are doing, but once they're well enough to leave St. Mungo's, Harry's going back with them." Remus sighed and took the mug offered to him with a word of thanks. He drank some and felt it soothe his throat, which was still hurting after the night before, whether from the wolfsbane or howling, he did not know. "He deserves the chance to find out anything he wants during this time..."

"Do you mean about his parents?" Danielle asked, and then laughed once Remus nodded. "Can't you see that he loves you as much as he loves them? Have you only been telling him about his parents? He's just as interested in you. Feel free to include anything about yourself."

"He's been asking more about Lily and James, though -" Remus said, brow furrowed, but Danielle was laughing again.

"I think he's too embarrassed to ask you directly. I mean, how does it sound to ask about what you like to do and what you did as a kid? Insert something about yourself, and he'll start to ask more directly."

Danielle was still smiling and chuckling every few seconds or so, trying to sip her tea but having to pause in laughter. Remus gave her a dirty look.

"Alright, Remus. The point is I'm still wary about this... mentor business. What do you expect of me?"

"Well, could you maybe see him every once in a while?" Remus asked, feeling rather embarrassed. He suddenly saw how it felt for Harry. "When it doesn't cut into your schedule, of course."

"There's no need to be that polite about it," Danielle scoffed, uncrossing her legs and standing up. "I can see him as often as you want. What else?"

"Just..." Remus thought about a way to choose his words. "Just act... motherly, in a way." He waited for the explosion, but only silence met him.

"You want me to act as your girlfriend?" Danielle asked, her voice choked with laughter, though it sounded somewhat forced.

"Not at all!" Remus was shocked at the thought. Had he worded it that badly? "Just someone who's there for Harry. I mean, the more people behind him, the better, right?"

Danielle nodded grimly. "Right."

Footsteps alerted them that Harry had woken up. The young boy walked out into the room, looking somewhat embarrassed and groggy. "Hullo," he said, sitting next to Remus. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Danielle answered, waving a hand, setting down her mug and waving to the kitchen. "Tea?"

"No thank you," Harry answered, voice faint and he blinked, getting used to the bright sunlight.

"I'll be getting dressed," Danielle said, leaving the room.

"I heard my name," Harry told Remus, frowning. "Is anything happening?"

"Just adults talking about pointless issues," Remus told him, smiling slightly. "Not too interesting."

"You're tutoring tomorrow, right?" Harry asked.

Remus thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes. And I'll have to ask Professor Dumbledore about the courses tonight, then."

"So I get to meet them?" Remus smiled, trying to remember how many times Harry had asked the same question.

"Yes, Harry. And you can ask them all the questions you want about Hogwarts and their classes once I finish with them. You may be able to sit in on the tutoring lessons, if you want. Of course, you can't be using anything I teach them in a bad way." He smiled and winked at Harry.

Danielle entered the room shortly afterwards, wearing a sweater and a long skirt, sitting back down. "Is there anything else we need to talk about?" she asked Remus, who shook his head. "Alright. Now, it's getting late and both of you are looking thin." She gave Remus a stern look. "So I'll be cooking. You two just stay here."

She walked into the kitchen, where they were still able to see her bustling around, pulling out a container of uncooked chicken and setting it down on a cutting board.

"Harry," she said, leaning on a knife to get it to cut through an onion, "have you gotten to look through Hogsmeade lately?"

Nodding, Harry told her about the shops he had been in with personal opinions added onto the end of each description. He was starting to sound like a newspaper review, Remus noted, laughing to himself. Danielle nodded as he described everything, occasionally able to slip in a word about her own opinion.

"And I got to see a bit of one place, far off on the road, but I didn't see it up close. It was big and rather old -"

"The Shrieking Shack?" Danielle asked, laying the chicken pieces in a pan over the onions. "It's haunted."

"Really?" Harry asked interestedly. Remus felt his face go pale but refrained from adding anything in. "Remus, can we see it sometime?"

"Possibly," he answered, hoping his voice betrayed nothing of his thoughts. "Danielle, is it supposed to sizzle that loud?"

Danielle glanced up, giving him a curious look, then turned to see smoke coming from the pan. She rushed forward, flipping the chicken and looking at the underside of it before saying, "It's fine, Remus. Don't go scaring me like that."

Privately, Remus prided himself on managing to change the subject so well, but refused to say it to Danielle or Harry. Danielle was giving him a strange look, however.

"Harry, you had said you wanted to see how wizard chess works," Danielle said, turning away from Remus at last. Remus had the impression that Danielle could see through everything he said. "I have a set in that chest over there." She motioned with a knife at a wooden chest that Remus would not have noticed if she did not point it out. "It looks like a normal chess set."

Digging into the chest, Harry started pulling out random objects such as a dress, several old and dusty books, and a boomerang before finding the set. He set the game carefully on the floor, setting the pieces up in their correct spots.

"They can move by themselves," Danielle told him, tapping her wand against the pan and getting it to heat instantly. She stepped aside, watching the boy closely. "Watch. Queen Side Knight," she said in a commanding voice, and the Knight turned to look at her. Harry gasped in shock. "Forward and left." The Knight made the move she told it to and Harry, eyes wide, ordered a piece to step forward. The pawn gave Harry a long, hard look before stepping forward.

"Remus, you can play my side while I cook."

They spent the next twenty minutes playing chess, ordering the pieces forward. Remus knew that he had never had the ability to win a game of wizard's chess, and the pieces always yelled out advice that he foolishly ignored. He preferred the type where the pieces kept silent and were moved by hand. Harry, however, seemed unable to grasp the concept, and Remus found himself winning early on.

"Dinner's ready," Danielle said, watching them for another second with interest. "I hope you like it. And nothing's burnt," she added to Remus, smiling.

They sat at her table, which was laden with dishes. Remus felt that she had more than outdone herself, but she insisted that she enjoyed cooking, and it was not often that she had guests over for meals.

"Joanna - you met her, Remus - she likes to come over sometimes, as does my family, but I don't think any of them can stand me long enough to stay for dinner." She smiled and cut the large pie in front of them, putting a large slice on Harry's plate. "Joanna's mainly been coming now for… emotional problems." Rolling her eyes, Danielle added, "And business, but that's all."

"Does she work with you?" Harry asked before taking a large bite of chicken.

"Yes. At St. Mungo's. It's the hospital for wizards around here," she added at Harry's confused look. "It's hidden from Muggles, like Hogwarts."

"Why do they do that?" Harry swallowed and continued with his question. "I mean, Muggles aren't going to break in, are they?"

"Well, they hate wizards and witches," Remus answered, cutting a slice of the pie into smaller pieces. Danielle handed him a bowl with potatoes, which he took and placed down, trying his best to scoop out a spoonful. "You know that they used to try and burn us at the stake."

"Did that kill a lot of wizards?" Harry asked, concern riding on his voice.

"No. Flame Freezing Spells stop us from being set on fire. Luckily, Muggles stopped that practice and now act as if we didn't exist," Danielle answered lightly, smiling slightly.

"That's why we hide everything. Muggles may report it, or want us to solve all of their problems with magic…." Remus told him, passing Harry a basket with rolls in it.

"You can solve all problems with magic?" Harry's eyes widened in interest.

Danielle laughed. "That's what most Muggles think, at least. They think we can wave away our problems, but we still have to deal with some things the 'normal' way." She smirked. "My grandparents used to think I could cure arthritis with a wave of the wand. As if I could back then. It's getting closer and closer though," she said more to herself than the other two. "We still have to pay bills without magic, do most of the cooking without magic… and labor hasn't been made easier with magic." She laughed at this, almost spilling her tea. Harry raised an eyebrow to Remus, who gave him a small smile without Danielle noticing.

"Oh, have a sense of humor!" she said, slowly stopping her laughter. "It was a joke. Well, I'm guessing only a female would get that," she added, sounding vastly superior. "So, what are you two doing tomorrow?"

"I'm tutoring students from Hogwarts," Remus told her. "So I won't be free for part of the day, I'm guessing."

"I get to sit in on them!" Harry added, eyes shining with joy. "I get to see what they learn there!"

"He's too excited about that to be healthy," Danielle said, grinning. "I remember how I acted when my sister got into Hogwarts. I was almost ready to rip off her head for getting to go early. Every summer until I went, I asked her to show me everything she learned, and she would flash that dreadful notice about use of magic over the summer in my face." She sighed. "Well, at least I got to go. But then she got to visit Hogsmeade before me, and take special courses before me…."

"Special courses?" Harry asked.

"Like Care of Magical Creatures," Remus explained. "They're courses that are not needed, but you can choose to take them. Like how electives work at Muggle schools."

Danielle nodded in agreement. "I made a rhubarb pie, if anyone wants any," she said, picking up the empty plates and carrying them over to the sink before returning with the pie in hand. "I'm afraid the recipe was… er… well, the card was ruined," she said, smiling nervously. "So it may not be the perfect one, but I tried my best."

Remus tried it, savoring the strawberry and rhubarb.

"It's good!" Harry said, piling more into his mouth.

Danielle smiled.

"Good." She turned to Remus. "I'll be busy tomorrow too. Meetings," she said, sighing. "I'll come by on Thursday, if you would like it."

Remus shrugged. "If you're free. I have more tutoring then, but I think Harry would enjoy your company again. Harry nodded his agreement, unable to speak through a mouthful of pie. Danielle smiled and gave Harry a small wink.

They finished eating soon afterwards, exchanging their goodbyes. She gave both Harry and Remus a small kiss on the cheek before waving, and they watched her fade from view as they left through the fireplace.

_**Again, thank you to every reviewer! I have so many reviews. I'm almost crying. Thank you!**_

_**Rosiegirl: I'm glad you think Danielle's nice. :) She's rather fun to write, and serves as a character I needed for one of the later chapters.**_

_**ThrainTalonwater: Here's the next chapter. I hope it's to your liking.**_

_**Mikee: Your reviews make my day. I'm so thrilled that you enjoy this! Severus is fun to write. It's like trying to make a dreadful, mean man into a decent friend. I'm having fun with his characterization. And, you know, after reading your review, I felt the need to pair Remus with Danielle. You give me such good reasons to do so, muaha. So many people would have called her a Mary Sue by this point. Thank you!**_

_**Falcon-Rider: Thanks for pointing out the errors. I have no typing or grammer skills, truth be told, and I need to find myself a beta. Or else spend more time reading through these chapters. I know that updating fast causes less reviews, but I just love writing and posting every day. It'll slow down starting tomorrow, however, because of school. Hopefully I'll get some people who are like me and feel the need to review everything even when a new chapter is up. :)**_

_**Athenakitty: I think Harry will start growing onto a few more people. Remus seems to have made him more trusting or adults, though still cautious, which is a good change for him. I'm not telling you how long the Wolfsbane Potion will take, though, because that may give away how long Harry stays with Remus. Tehe. :)**_

**_Extra Note:_** **_Mikee, thank you so much for your help with this chapter! I'm so tempted to just go over and kiss you right now! You're way too kind to me! (Everyone, Mikee is the best beta in the world, even when not your beta.)_**


	10. Chapter 10

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series or affiliates. The books would be a hundred pages longer if I did, and all of the hundred pages would involve Remus being... Remus and Snape making out with the Giant Squid. And kids would no longer exist in the books. Except for Neville and Luna, because they're cool by me.**_

_**WARNING: This chapter may possibly be pushing an 'R' rating for torture, character death, gore, and blood.**_

**Wednesday**

Remus had a small handful of Floo Powder clutched in his fist at eleven in the morning, throwing it into the fire and watching the emerald flames. He pushed his head in, calling out, "Hogwarts!" and feeling his head swirling and finding Dumbledore's office.

"Hello, Remus," the old wizard greeted, smiling, his blue eyes twinkling. "I supposed you would be calling on me today. What is the occasion?"

"Well, the tutoring starts today," Remus explained. "I was wondering if I could have a brief overview of the classes that each will be taking next year so that I know what to teach them."

Nodding, Dumbledore stood up and grabbed a thick folder on his desk, passing it to Remus. Remus stuck an arm in, feeling the flames lick him, and took the folder.

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem," Dumbledore answered, still smiling. "I believe today is Ms. Johnson?"

"Yes," Remus answered, thinking for a moment. "I just want to thank you once more for this -"

"It's no problem," Dumbledore said again, waving a hand. "You have a talent for teaching that very few people seem to possess." Remus thought of Severus suddenly, biting back a retort. "They want your skill to tutor their children rather than anyone else's."

Remus thought about Johnson's letter and the crudely hidden rudeness directed towards him and the claiming that Phoebe would only been tutored by him because they trusted Dumbledore's judgment. Instead of mentioning it, Remus thanked him once more and pulled back from the flames, waiting as his head found itself back inside his own house.

Opening the folder, Remus found a note on top of everything else in Dumbledore's loopy handwriting.

_Tutoring shall take place at noon inside of Hogwarts. All of the students being tutored have been informed._

Remus set the note aside, glancing at the rest of the folder. Inside was a pile of papers for seventh, fifth, and first year curriculums. The classes written down seemed to be the new schedule of each new student he was tutoring, and he took a moment to glance through them, seeing which subjects he had had as a student at Hogwarts.

Harry was glancing at the folder over his shoulder, frowning. "What's Herbology like?"

"It's like gardening, but with different plants." Remus frowned at the paper. "It looks like Phoebe needs help mainly in human transfiguration. This is going to be dreadful."

"Why? You're good at that." Harry took the paper as soon as Remus set it down, glancing it over, and a confused expression on his face.

"It's just that, if she's bad at it and she uses any of the spells on me, I'm in trouble. I hope not to be a cat by the end of the day." He smiled. "I'm sure that to get this far, she can manage enough not to do that, however."

Remus planned out what he was going to do until quarter till noon, in which he told Harry to get ready and the two Flooed to Hogwarts. Once again, Dumbledore was there, pacing around the office, dictating something to a quill that was standing by itself.

"Good day, Remus," he said, glancing up at him. "Hello, Harry. I believe Ms. Johnson will be meeting you in the History of Magic classroom in ten minutes."

Remus nodded and thanked him, walking with Harry out into the empty halls. Remus guessed that most of the students would be in class at the time.

There was a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, and Remus turned to find a ghost on the other side of the hall. Harry had stopped walking several steps before, staring. It was a tall witch with a flowing dress and long hair that would have been dark had she been solid.

"Greetings," she said solemnly, turning towards them. Harry was still staring at her. "May I help you?"

"We know the way," Remus answered, taking Harry's shoulder and leading him on.

"Was that a ghost?" Harry asked, still looking amazed as they continued down the hall.

"Yes. She's the Grey Lady. Rather depressing ghost. The others tend to be friendlier. Here we are." He opened the door and let Harry in before him. Harry glanced around the old classroom, sitting at one of the desks, head still turning every way.

Within several minutes, the door opened again and a girl walked in. She was obviously one of the older students, with a matured body and blonde hair that reached her ears, cut short like a boy's. She wore a disdainful look and surveyed them both with contempt.

"Phoebe Johnson," she greeted, placing her bag down in one of the chairs. "I take it you're that werewolf Professor Dumbledore offered up to tutor?"

Remus had the impression that she was either pure-blood or grew up with extremely strong prejudices. "I'm Remus Lupin, yes," he answered, trying his best to ignore her new look, that was one of hatred and fear mixed.

Jutting her chin out, she said, "I'm Phoebe Johnson. And we ought to hurry or else I'll be late for my next class."

Attempting not to bite back a rude reply, Remus answered, "I believe I'll be tutoring you on human transfiguration? Let us begin with something easier such as color changing."

Harry smiled and watched closely, obviously amazed at even having such a concept spoken allowed. Phoebe threw Harry a dirty look and pulled out her wand, facing Remus.

"I'll be practicing on you, then?" she asked. When Remus nodded hesitantly, she waved her wand and he glanced down at his hands. They were a bright orange color now, very different from his usual pale color.

"That's good," he said to her. Now, another part of Transfiguration is the ability to return objects back to normal."

She waved her wand again, looking bored, though his hands turned a violent shade of blue instead. She tried once more, managing to return them to normal.

The lesson carried on for an hour until she managed to return his new mustache back into a patch of skin and reminded him of the time. As he was saying goodbye to her, she left, slamming the door behind her.

"She was nice," Harry said quietly, glancing at the closed door with an off expression on his face.

Remus smiled. "Well, some people aren't too nice, everyone should learn that." He picked up the folder and placed the papers for Phoebe in the back, glancing at the next few.

"Are we leaving?" Harry asked. Remus nodded. Taking Harry's hand lightly in his, Remus led the way through the halls, glancing around, seeing no on but the same depressed ghost sitting at another window. She gave them a mournful as they passed, but said nothing this time.

As they reached the gargoyles that marked Dumbledore's office, Remus stared at them for a moment as though that would make them go away. They stared back, faint smiles playing along their stony lips.

Suddenly, Harry said, "Licorice wand." Remus glanced down at him and saw that Harry was staring at the gargoyles that had jumped aside for them, letting them enter.

"How did you know that?" Remus asked. Harry merely gave a jerk of the shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and followed. They followed the staircase until they reached the door. Remus knocked.

"Enter," came the old wizard's voice. Remus forced the door open, letting Harry in first, and then motioned towards the fireplace.

"Could we use it to leave?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "How did it go? I've heard that Ms. Johnson's temper is rather... fiery this week."

"No one has lied to you," Remus answered, smiling. "Harry, you can go first." Harry took the Floo Powder into his fist, looking slightly disturbed at the thought of having to use it again. Nevertheless, he threw it into the fire and called out the address, disappearing from view. With another word of thanks to Dumbledore, Remus followed.

The first thing he was alerted of was screaming. He did not need to look around to see what had happened: there was a group of people, standing around the sides of the room, all dressed in the deepest black robes, one of them was now stained in blood. The effect of the bright red over the robes was terrifying.

Remus pulled out his wand from his pocket, raising it, about to throw a hex at the nearest one, but he found his wand missing from his hand. It had been thrown near Harry, who was on the ground, face soaked in blood, yelling.

Acting as quickly as he could, Remus bent to grab Harry and shield him, but he felt the distinct motion of a spell being cast and found himself on the floor, feeling the most painful feeling sweep over him. His insides were being ripped out of place, stretching beyond what they could, soaking himself in blood. When he glanced at his hand, expecting to see veins squirt blood around, muscle ripping out off his bones, he realized that he was covered in Harry's blood, as was the witch standing over them.

She said something, possibly directed to them, possibly to the other Death Eaters, but Remus did not listen. All he could hear were Harry's yells as two of the larger men stood around him, casting spells on him. Fighting to his knees, Remus lunged at Harry to save him, but the woman's boot made contact with his chest, forcing the air from his lungs.

"Not yet," she hissed, bending down. Remus recognized the strong figures, the long nose, the heavy eye lids, the grey eyes under them... When he opened his mouth, she spoke, talking to him for minutes. Remus, meanwhile, was staring at Harry, who was motionless, chest barely moving, yet the wizards were still casting spells on him.

"Stop!" he yelled at them hoarsely. Even if it did not stop them for good, it caused a distraction. "Don't... hurt him," Remus panted.

The Death Eaters watched him carefully, stopping the rapid spells cast at Harry. Bellatrix pulled his head sharply to face her.

"One reason," she said to him, eyes narrowing.

"Take me..." he panted, his voice growing weaker as he spoke. He felt worse than he ever had after any full moon. "I'm the one... watching him... Taking me would... work..." He coughed, eyes closed tight against the pain it caused in his throat. Bellatrix roughly pushed his head back down to the ground as she stood and Remus was left there, on the ground, feeling helpless.

"Leave the boy!" she commanded, voice ringing. "The Dark Lord will retrieve him. Take the werewolf. I have a feeling that I know what to do with him." When one Death Eater started to ask a question, she snapped, "The boy will die before anyone finds him! We'll meet at the End, you know the way.

Two of the men who had been attacking Harry grabbed Remus, who was feeling too weak to fight back. He kicked once or twice, though he felt a sharp pain to his neck every time he tried.

"Harry?" he asked, voice too hoarse to hear, he guessed. There was no reaction from the boy. Remus pleaded as they dragged him out, but no response came.

He was unaware of what happened next. They may have Apparated with him, but everything was too blurred to comprehend. All he knew was that he was in a house, dimly lit and displaying books around the walls. Remus recognized it quickly.

"Severus?" he yelled, trying to make himself heard over the footsteps. He hoped they had not caught him, too; as much as he now disliked the man, having Severus free was another way to survive.

He found himself thrown onto the ground. There was a moment in which nothing happened, though he wished it would have lasted longer. All he knew was that he was under another curse and he felt as though someone was kicking him while dragging burning pokers across his body. He willed himself not to scream. It would only provoke them. A hand swept over his chest, he felt, and then there was a sharp pain, flaring his nerves for a moment before dulling back down. He gasped as his lungs were hit again and again, and he felt something snap. He could not breathe easily, and his breath was coming in searing gasps.

Remus had never felt pain that strong in his life. It made transforming feel like a paper cut. It must have been hours before he even heard a voice through the sounds of his bones cracking and his own searing gasps.

"Stop," came the silky voice, sounding almost joyful. Remus tried to look up, but the muscles in his neck yelled in pain. One of his eyes was swollen shut already and he could barely make out the thin shape. However, one look said everything - sharp angles, rich robes all in black, though not like the Death Eater's robes. In one hand was his wand.

The Death Eaters stopped, staring at Severus. Walking up to Remus, Severus looked down the bridge of his large nose at Remus. There was a small smirk playing on his lips.

"I see they have treated you well. There are a million ways to cause more pain." He threw an angry look at the Death Eaters and motioned them all away before kneeling next to Remus.

"I have a deal to make with you." Remus tried to answer, but his jaw was wired shut. A deal? With Severus? Why wasn't he just helping him get away from the Death Eaters?

"Give us Harry Potter for your life. If you disagree, we will continue with this until you do agree. And I know plenty of other things to do to you." He smirked.

Remus, throat working soundlessly, tried to answer that Severus could still escape with him, but then he saw it: Severus was with the others dressed in black. He was on their side, not his.

Severus' black eyes were burning into his and Remus felt the answer ripped from his mind, though it never escaped his mouth. Severus' smirk grew.

Pulling out his wand, he waved it, causing a thin beam of light to float from his wand. He pressed it against Remus, and there was the smell of burning flesh. Remus tried to pull away, but Severus was gripping his arm tightly now, forcing him to stay in place. Once a long, raw burn was covering his right arm, Severus pulled the wand away.

'_At least it's not Harry going through his'_, Remus thought, eyes screwed up tight, trying to force his mind on other things,

Agony had never felt so relieving.

There had been a time, at Hogwarts, when James attempted to make a potion, though it turned out the opposite of what it was supposed to be. It had spilled on Remus, causing him to burn.

... First Flooing trip... burning.

Remus could no longer breathe. His breath, as faint as it was, came in with droughts of burned skin, poisoning his lungs.

"You're forcing me to try this." Severus reached into his robes, which was stained with blood that was crawling up, which Remus finally recognized as his own blood. A thin vial was in his hands and he shook it. "Open," he commanded. He wrenched Remus' jaw open, crushing it between his fingers, tossing the contents of his bottle into his mouth. Remus felt nothing, wondering if Severus had only used water, really on their side.

He started shivering against his will, his muscles seizing. Severus yelled for a Death Eater to throw him into the back room, and hands were on him, barely touching him, afraid.

It was only then that the transformation really started.

Transforming several days before had been bad enough. Now, however, the pain of his already broken bones worsened it and he felt the ligaments split around his body, felt the remaining bones shatter and glue together while burning his insides as well as his arm.

When he lost his mind, however, the pain worsened. The wolf, trying to find the source of pain, bit at his arm, which refused to grow hair but was still red and raw.

Waking up, Remus found himself completely unable to move. Maybe the transformation was still happening and he was not human yet. However, he spared a glance at his arms and found himself there, shreds of clothes still barely hanging onto his thin frame, in worse shape than he had ever been in before.

Images of Severus floated into his head, returning the memories of the night before to him. Was it a night ago? Or only a few hours? He clawed hopelessly at the ground, trying to move. Would it be better to wait until they figure out he's human, or would it be worth letting them in for the chance to leave.

Remus ran a hand over his ribs, which were now showing clearly through his skin after the transformation. One of the bent down suddenly, and he gingerly touched it, feeling pain sweep over him. It had to be broken.

"Severus?" he tried, voice barely as loud as a whisper, even when he tried to yell. He tried several more time, never getting anyone to enter. Finally, he sunk into a deep sleep, no longer noticing the coldness of the damp floor.

When he woke once more, Remus tried to guess the time. It was dark inside the room, as it had been the first time he entered. There was no point in trying to find the way out. Everything was equally dark around him. However, if he reached around for a bit, he could feel damp lumps around the room. He could not figure out what they were, though he could tell that they were freshly covered in the liquid. If he brought his hand to his face, he smelt blood, though he figured that it was only his own.

He sat there as long as he could, still trying his best to ignore the pain coming from every last part of his body.

Days passed, possibly. It could have only been hours, however. What he did know was that the door opened, letting in wand light. Remus was tempted to growl at whoever it was, just to make them think he was still transformed, though he could not manage it.

Hands reached around him before he got a proper look at who it was, and they were gentle rather than rough as they had been before.

There was a glimpse of white, and Remus managed a weak, "Headmaster?"

A gentle hushing sound came from the other man, and Remus felt himself brought up to his feet. His legs would not support him, though Remus made an attempt to walk by himself, only being grabbed by the shoulder. When he fell over completely, there was a soft hush of air moving and Remus found himself unable to move as Dumbledore, eyes grave, cast another spell, moving Remus across the room.

A thin hand gripped his arm painfully tight, though he knew Dumbledore was trying to be soft on him. He felt the air around him press tighter and knew he was Apparating.

They were outside his house, which looked as it had however long before.

Dumbledore tapped the door with his wand, letting them in. Harry was sitting on the chair, a thin scar across his face, stretching from his right eyebrow to the left side of his jaw. He smiled weakly when he saw Dumbledore, but his face hardened when he saw Remus. He tried to stand up, but Dumbledore reached out a hand, stopping him.

"He'll be alright," the wizard told Harry, letting Remus out of the spell that froze him, and then guiding him to another chair. Dumbledore stood over Remus, faintly touching his arm, pressing, watching Remus' reaction.

It took all of his will power to believe the words himself.

"He'll need to heal," Dumbledore said quietly, moving the shoulder of Remus' torn up clothing to see the deep welts below. His face was in a defeated expression that Remus had never seen before. "Lie down." Remus leaned sideways, falling onto the other half of the chair, shoulder objecting painfully.

"How did you find me?" he asked, voice still broken up. He did not really care. All that mattered was that Harry was sitting across from him, looking fine despite several scars running down his face and arms.

"Harry overheard the end of the conversation the Death Eaters were having, mentioning 'the End'. Once I was here to give you another folder on students, he was able to tell me. I sent him off to get patched up and tried to find you." He frowned. "It took a while. I had to get in and rid of the Death Eaters, then find the secret room."

Remus groaned. He did not feel up to saying anything else.

"However, I believe someone else was in there after you transformed." Dumbledore's voice was lined with concern a he pulled a small box from his pocket. He handed it to Remus, who opened it slowly, dreading what he would see.

There was part of a hand, one of he fingers taken off. However, bite marks did not take it off. It looked as though it had been cut then healed over.

Feeling rather sick when he saw the still bloody end at the wrist and the distinct bite marks, Remus tried to stand, feeling more bile rise into his throat. He did that? To who?

Dumbledore took his arm and let Remus to the bathroom, where he found himself vomiting over the loo, trying to rid the image from his mind. He heard splattering, though it made no difference to him of what happened to his own body.

_'I killed someone_.'

Dumbledore was holding Remus' hair out of his face, but Remus was tempted to smack him away, telling him to leave him there to die, he deserved it. However, at the thought of the hand, he found himself continuing.

"Who?" he asked, managing to stop. He felt faint and when he glanced at his reflection in the mirror across the room, he found black spots in front of his eyes and that his lips were blue. Not that it mattered to him.

"Peter Pettigrew," came the answer. Remus glanced at him sharply, regretting it as his neck gave off a loud popping sounds and he felt forward, having to be caught by Dumbledore. He took in a shaky breath, glancing at the old man.

"I'll explain everything I have figured out once you're back in bed."

And, despite his quiet arguments, Remus felt himself thrust into his room, where he was forced into a sleep filled with hands and dead bodies.

_**I love you all.**_

_**Anyway, I had school (first week) and I don't think I'll be able to write much. I get tons upon tons of homework, mainly from English class. I still love my English teacher, however. Anyway -**_

_**I have more favorites and reviews and it makes me a very happy little girl.**_

_**Rosiegirl: Maybe you'll get it. Not telling, however. Let me say this, though - I have the perfect ending in mind. And possibly a sequel. Whether Harry gets a part or not...**_

_**Mikee: Danielle is saucy, yes. That's why I love writing her. She has that sort of... wit, I guess, that I wish I had. Haha. Thank you so much for everything! I hug you!**_

_**Falcon-Rider: Remus shall have fun with the Dursleys, whether personally or through Dumbledore. I'm so evil.**_

_**ThrainTalonwater: Here's more. Yay for people wanting more!**_

_**Scribhneoir: Danielle is... an interesting character. I'm trying to keep it so that you don't know what's up with her for a while. You'll understand her soon, however.**_

_**The Wandmaker: Welcome to the land of Christina's weird answering of reviews! Haha. Thank you for saying Danielle not a Mary Sue. I'm still worrying. Must... breathe... Thanks for the lovely review!**_

_**Elizabeth: I don't want to spoil anything, but let me say that you'll be a happy camper on the shipping issue. Haha. I say that too much. My uforia is to the point of ripping my heart into joyful little smiley faces:)**_

_**A Teenage Werewolf: Thanks for the tissues. Tehe. Harry deserves a 'family', really. Poor boy. He's the one who needs tissues.**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Miasma**

**By Dimgwrthien**

_**Disclaimer: I still do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series. Yeah. If I did, the books would be different. See? I don't own them. Get on reading the story, now.**_

**Wednesday**

Remus was in his bed, head resting against the soft pillow, feeling comfortable for the first time in what felt like forever. However, he refused to sleep.

"What happened?" he asked Dumbledore. Harry was perched on the end of Remus' bed, giving him long, calculating looks, studying his face. "Tell me how that all happened. Peter's dead!"

He felt sick again, guilt bubbling in his chest. He killed someone who was already dead. Killed him.

"You're burnt," Harry said quietly, picking up Remus' arm, lightly touching a hand over the burn, giving it a harsh look. "How did that happen?"

Remus gave Harry a quick look, staring back up at Dumbledore at once. "What happened?"

Dumbledore rested a hand on a chair near the desk, sighing before he started explaining.

"The time that we could not find you was spent trying to find the missing pieces of the story. By what it sounds -"

"Who knows the full story?" Remus interrupted, eyes wide. All thoughts of pain were flooded out of his mind. Harry's thin fingers touching his burn did not have an impact on him.

"Sirius Black, Severus Snape, and Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore answered. "However, Peter is now dead. I have managed to get Severus to speak to me, telling me as much of the truth as I could get. Sirius will be questioned later today.

"Severus informed me that Peter, an animagus from the sounds of it, able to turn into a rat -"

"It's my fault," Remus whispered, feeling a muscle twitch in his cheek. "They did that for me." When Dumbledore gave him a questioning look, Remus continued. "When they found out I was a werewolf, they became Animaguses. During school." His voice trailed off and he felt fainter than before. It had been his fault.

"He went to Severus, apparently under the orders of a fellow Death Eater, though I could not coax the name from Severus. There, he stayed with Severus until Severus moved, using the secret room you were in to keep Peter hidden. Peter had orders passed from Lord Voldemort to him and was giving them to Severus. Severus, as it turns out, was not on our side."

Dumbledore's face showed the strangest expression Remus had ever seen upon it: self-loathing and hardness. Dumbledore had never made such an expression, and now every line in his face gave off the same impression.

"My mistake was in trusting him. When you used Floo Powder to enter his home, he was able to trace the address back and pass it along to other Death Eaters, along with the perfect time to attack." Dumbledore sighed. "I only figured it out when I heard from Ms. Johnson that you had been tutoring that Severus had not turned up for his lesson."

Remus' mouth hung open slightly, a dull feeling pounding through his chest. Not only his fault, but Dumbledore's? He said nothing, though Dumbledore seemed to understand what he meant.

"In one hour's time will be a hearing with Sirius Black. We will then discover the answers to everything."

Closing his eyes, Remus tried to let the information sweep over him. It was too much to handle - Severus being a Death Eater, trying to get to Harry, Peter being alive -

"You ought to sleep," Dumbledore told him gently, resting a hand on Remus' shoulder as he used the other one to pull a sheet up to his chin. Remus took a shaky breath, lungs still burning from pain and distress. "I will send Madam Pomfrey along later to patch you up."

Harry gently placed Remus' burnt-up arm on the bed, standing up. He glanced into Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"Could I stay here?" he asked. Dumbledore nodded and retreated from the room.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, feeling ashamed. The scar marring Harry's pale face was all his fault. He was reminded of the scars running down Severus' arm and the hand in the box. How many people did he have to ruin in such a short time?

"I'm fine," Harry answered. "Just a cut. The scar will be off at some point soon." He gave Remus a critical look, studying his face for a moment before hovering around the end of the bed. "Are you alright?"

Remus smiled faintly. "You're always going to ask that, aren't you?"

Harry did not return the smile. "I mean it. You look terrible."

"Ta." Remus tried to move his arm, but he felt a two shattered parts of bone grind together and remain still. "I'm dreadful, really. But, Harry - tell me you're fine."

"I'm fine," Harry answered voice crisp and fast. He sounded as though he was pushing back tears. "It was all my fault this happened."

"It's not," Remus said sharply, trying to sit up. His broken ribs objected painfully, pushing him back. He was forced to stare at the ceiling as he spoke. "It's my fault, if anyone's, Harry. I was stupid enough not to realize what I did, Flooing from here to Severus' -" He broke off. One other person had witnessed his Flooing.

"Danielle," he hissed suddenly. When he pushed himself up on his elbows, making to stand up, Harry pushed him down, frowning.

"Don't move," he commanded. "What about Danielle?"

"She may have given away the address to Severus -"

"You heard Professor Dumbledore. Snape got it himself." When Remus opened his mouth, Harry said, "She's not evil, I don't think. She doesn't seem evil. Professor Dumbledore spoke to her when trying to find out everything. I was there. She was under some potion to tell the truth and she said that she had no part in anything. She was just helping."

"The Imperius Curse," Remus suggested weakly. Harry furrowed his brow.

"You mean where you make someone do something? No. She's good, Remus. I promise." Harry sat on the edge of the bed. "It was Snape in the end. In an hour, we'll know everything. I promise that once it's over, you'll be the first to hear everything."

Remus nodded slightly.

Harry looked at his lap, sniffing loudly. When he looked up again to meet Remus' blue eyes, tears streaked his face.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, trying to lean forward. He ignored the screaming agony in his chest and took Harry's head close to his heart.

"You almost died," Harry said softly, still sniffing. "You almost died!" Remus was going to answer that he was fine, but Harry broke into large sobs, burying his face in Remus' burnt arm. "You're the only person who I've actually been friends with and I almost got you killed! If I hadn't been here, you would -"

"I would be lonely, as would you," Remus said, tightening his hold on Harry. "It's not your fault. If it's not mine, then it's no one's fault that this happened. Harry, don't cry..."

Moving his head and wiping his eyes, Harry took in another shaking breath. He took Remus' burnt arm into his hands and examined it. Remus saw that there was a long, dark red blotch down his arm. The scar was raised and still hot to the touch. It beat painfully against him whenever he moved it.

"You should do something about that," Harry said quietly. "Looks deep." He looked Remus in the eye, still studying his face. Remus had not seen himself in the mirror properly yet, and could only guess at how horrible he had to of looked. "What happened to you?"

"Just a bit of..." When Harry gave him a glare, Remus corrected himself. "The Death Eaters enjoy torture; you know that first hand now." He ran his thumb along Harry's jaw line where the scar ended. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"What happened to you?" Harry repeated. "Tell me everything."

"They took me to Severus' house," Remus told him, not meeting his eyes. He was studying his hands, which had been ripped by rather viciously by his own fault. "A few rounds of the Cruciatus Curse, by the feel of it, some burning, and a forced transformation." When he looked up, Remus attempted a weak smile. "I'm fine, Harry." As he shifted, he winced as his broken rib dug into the skin.

Harry moved the covers slightly, glancing past Remus' ripped clothes, hand hovering over the rib for a moment. He frowned. "I'm going to make sure Professor Dumbledore gets Madam Pomfrey."

"It's fine," Remus said again, wrapping his unbroken arm around his ribs. In truth, he wanted her there badly, wanted to just be numbed and repaired easily, but he did not want to show any weakness in front of Harry. In his state, he guessed, he must have looked weak anyway.

"No, it's not," Harry said, walking out of the room. Remus heard faint footsteps, then knew that Harry stopped. There was another choked sob from outside of the room. He was tempted to call out, but Remus knew that Harry was like him in that sense: both were afraid of showing their weakness.

More footsteps came and there was the sound of sniffling. The door opened again and there was Albus Dumbledore letting Madam Pomfrey in. She was dressed in her usual white robes and took one look at Remus before rushing to his side, examining him.

"How did you manage to survive that?" she asked, brow furrowed, trying to force a potion into his mouth. Remus was reminded of the potion Severus forced into his mouth only hours before and tried to tilt his head away, but she forced it into his mouth. "I heard what happened. My God, Remus." She took his arm and was twisting it in her hands. He winced. "Broken or just burned?" Remus nodded as she said broken and clenched his jaw, wishing Harry, Dumbledore, and the matron would leave him there to die in peace.

"I was just meeting with the Minister of Magic," Dumbledore said to Remus. Remus opened his eyes, feeling ill once more. He forced himself not to vomit at the thought of what may have been said.

"He has told me that the meeting with Sirius Black shall settle the matters. Although" - Remus winced; that was not a promising word - "he has requested that Harry be taken from your care for a while."

"How long?" Harry asked, eyes widening.

"Forever," Dumbledore said solemnly. Harry stared from Dumbledore to Remus, his face frozen in shock.

"No!" he yelled. "You - he - I'm not leaving!"

"It's for your own good," Remus said quietly, how own voice starting to break.

"No," Harry repeated, a fire burning behind his eyes. "I'd rather stay here than go back with the Dursleys!"

"You're safe with them, Harry," Remus told him, closing his eyes and leaning deeper into his pillows. He wished he could disappear into their softness forever and never have to talk to anyone again. He took Harry out of force, tried his best to give something to Harry, and now... he was a murderer.

Harry's eyes were brimming with tears and his voice was quiet and choking. "Remus - I - I can't go back. They hate me. You don't. You're a million times better than them. I don't care about what happened today. It can happen again to me, for all I care. Just as long as I can stay here with you."

"I'm sorry," Remus said. He meant it, from the bottom of his heart. _'Sorry for being a dreadful adult. Sorry for taking you here. Sorry for not saving you. Sorry for leaving you to die.'_

Madam Pomfrey had peeled the sheets away from Remus again, making disapproving noises as she felt along his ribs, watching his face for wincing, then repairing the bones.

There was no sound from Harry. Remus cursed the silence in the room for a while, until Madam Pomfrey started on about how he should take care of himself. Plenty of rest and food, no doing stupid things, don't move for a while... He blocked the voice from his head.

Suddenly, Dumbledore's voice said quietly from near the door. "Harry, it's time to say goodbye to Remus."

Harry walked up to Remus, staring at him for a moment. Remus was not sure whether Harry was going to hit him right there, but instead, he felt two thin arms wrap around his body.

"I'm sorry," Remus repeated. He wrapped his own arms around Harry, and they remained there, words passing between the two without moving their mouths.

Tears stained Remus' shirt, Harry's tears. He forced himself not to cry along with the young boy, and instead shut his eyes tight. Remus let go of Harry and took his hand for a moment.

"I'll still be here," he said in a low voice. "Always. You can still talk to me any time you want."

Harry nodded, eyes red and downcast. He turned without saying a word and followed Dumbledore out of the room.

And then Harry was gone.

Remus remained in bed for the rest of the day, not moving out of pure spite. Harry was gone and there was no reason to bother. The spells had been taken off of his house. He had received news only a half-hour before saying that Severus was rotting in Azkaban. He was still waiting for news of Sirius.

There was the sound of knocking at the front door, faint as it reached his ears.

"It's me, Remus, Danielle," came the mournful voice. Remus tried to call back, but his throat was still closed with oncoming tears. He heard a faint whisper from her, and the sounds of the door opening. She walked into his room, wearing long robes, tucking her wand into her pocket. Her hair was lank around her face and she looked depressed, standing there, shoulder slumped.

"Good heavens!" she yelped when she saw him. She rushed to him much as Madam Pomfrey had, bending over him. "Are you alright? They said you were in bad shape, but -"

"I'm fine," Remus said, staring at his feet. He felt cold inside and the blankets around him did not help.

Danielle gave him a searching look, saying, "I have the news of the trial. I said I would tell you because I was just leaving the Ministry."

"Why where you there?" Remus still had not forgotten his impression from earlier of Danielle being a Death Eater.

"I had to speak to my sister," Danielle snapped, but her face soon softened. "I'm sorry. I just heard from Dumbledore about what you thought of me." She smirked. "I promise you that I do not look good in black."

Against his will, Remus smiled. "I'm sorry," he said grudgingly. "What happened?"

Danielle perched herself on the edge of his bed and started talking about what happened. She went into great detail of everything she was told and Remus wondered how good her memory was. Sirius, by the sounds of it, claimed that Peter was the Secret Keeper and Peter cut off his finger, transformed, and ran off. Everything linked together in the end and Remus was left there, staring at Danielle. Her plump cheeks were flushed as she spoke, obviously not stopping for breath.

She fell silent and Remus said nothing. "It's weird," she told him. "Anyway -"

"How did it end?" Remus asked quickly. Danielle smiled.

"I was going to tell you. He's innocent. He's leaving Azkaban."

Remus' eyes widened.

"Dumbledore's sending him here first. Figured you would want to talk to him." She forced a smile. "I'm happy for you two."

"What about you and Peter?" Remus forced himself to ask. He felt a bubble of guilt in his stomach.

Danielle gave him a doleful look, biting her lip. "It's fine," she said quietly. "Turns out he was a Death Eater and he's dead now. Waste of so many years of mourning." She sighed and pulled a tissue from her pocket, wiping her eyes and frowning. "I'm fine, I promise."

"I killed him," Remus said in a quiet voice, feeling the need to tell her. Danielle had loved him and it was his fault he was dead.

Danielle gave him a long look of shock, and then cleared her throat. "Well, it turns out he wasn't that great of a man." Her smile was weak and watery. "'S'fine. I'll manage. However, I believe you'll be having a guest over soon." She stood up. "I'll get going then."

"Wait." Remus shifted in the bed, managing to get to his feet. His bones were no longer broken after Madam Pomfrey's healing, but he still felt stiff and dreadful. After being so ill after hearing what he did, Remus still felt his head spin when he was on his feet, but resisted the urge to vomit again. He stretched out his arms and took her into them, hugging her strongly. She wrapped her arms around him, too, sniffing into his shirt.

They remained like that until Danielle stopped crying again, and she broke away, giving him a small smile. "Thanks, Remus. I'll leave you to wait for him." With a small wink, she said, "I'll talk to you another time. We can stay in touch."

Remus said goodbye to her and watched her leave. The sounds of Apparating came soon after, and there was a knock on the door. Remus sucked in a breath, biting his lip. When he opened the door, Dumbledore was there with Sirius.

It was not Sirius as Remus knew him. This Sirius was not young and muscular, but instead looking old and ragged. He was wearing rather new robes, but they did not hide the fact that his bones were sticking out further than needed and that his long hair was matted with grime and dirt.

"Remus?" he asked, grey eyes traveling over Remus, a smile starting on his lips.

"You're innocent," Remus said, feeling faint. He grabbed onto Sirius, ignoring Dumbledore, hugging him more tightly than he ever hugged anyone before. Sirius did not smell like Sirius with his faint smell of dust and soap. Instead, he smelled like dirt, though Remus saw no difference. He looked at Dumbledore and said, "Thank you," before the old wizard smiled and disappeared.

After so many years, Remus found that ten years of friendship and trust that had been knocked down came back and swept through them. They carried on as if they had only spoken to each other the day before. Sirius went off to shower, and Remus cooked. They talked about what Remus had been doing and carefully ignored all mentions of Azkaban.

It was a wonderful hour.

Then there was another knock at the door.

Remus, feeling confused, stood up, glancing at Sirius, who shrugged. When he opened the door, he had to glance downwards a bit to see the dark-haired visitor, who was smiling widely.

"I don't think Wizarding hospitals are that great. Still some problems. Besides, I haven't gotten to meet my godfather yet. Or you, really," Harry told him, confidence coating his voice like it always had with James.

**The End.**

_**The end, kiddies! Well, I may write a sequel if I get enough support. If no one wants it, I may not. I'm not sure, though. It would mainly consist of Hogwarts, and I could never write school years. Anyway, those are my favorite words. The end. It feels terrible, though, like I killed someone. If anyone's dead, you don't have to review, haha.**_

_**Scribhneoir: I'm evil, yes. Tehe. Summer is indeed over. And so is this story. I wanted, like, 80 chapters, but I can't drag out a story that long. Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews during this story.**_

_**ThrainTalonwater: Here's your wish! If I decide to, you may be able to see more between the three.**_

_**Mikee: You rock so much. More hugs to you. You kept me sane during this with those wonderfully long reviews. Thank you! I am naughty. I've just always wanted to write something kind of dark, and I did my best.**_

**_A Teenage Werewolf: Harry doesn't need tissues now, I suppose. Well, maybe a few. I'll take the rest. I'm not good at real writing outside of fan fiction. Published two books_** **_and I'm ashamed to admit it, really. Well, I suppose this should have been a fast enough update, muahaha._**

_**Quick Note: My C2s on this story dropped from 10 to 1. I was rather amused by that. I have over 5000 hits, though, so I'm happy. I want to thank everyone who has read this story, whether reviewing or not. You all rock so much! Have a great life and I hope to talk to some of you soon.**_

_**- Christina**_


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